Emerald Chronicles: A Frozen Flame
by ScytheRider
Summary: A Silver Resistance story. When a mysterious discovery draws the Master's attention too close to home, an Infernape and his team learn that victory can cost much more than expected. Featuring dozens of reader-submitted characters.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

This is the story of something that happened long ago in the northern recesses of Ambera.

Or maybe it wasn't so long ago; it's hard to tell. But sometime during the decades-long wait for the Call, as the Resistance bided its time and cowered for survival beneath the Master's influence, continuing to chip away at its impenetrable power wherever possible, something strange happened near the icy borders of Zerferia. Though it is unlikely anyone remembers it exactly as it happened– for you see, it is a tragic story, something many wish to forget, and it is a story which only exists in the record books of the resistance, as the Master's empire would claim it never happened – it is a story that deserves to be told.

Zerferia, the heartless and barren land of cold, existed beyond the northernmost borders of Ambera. While it was home to some ice-dwelling Pokémon for a mile or two, the icy plains beyond were not hospitable enough to sustain life, even for the most rugged of Pokémon species. It was an arctic land of eternal storms and savage, unyielding winds, a place where night lasted for months rather than hours, a place home to only rocks and snow. The Pokémon of Ambera, even the northern cities used to the year-round chilly weather and bitter winters, never dared to venture there.

But one fateful night, for three Pokémon, there was a fate far worse than braving the frozen plains of Zerferia.

As a winter storm blew in from the north, three Pokémon fled through the rocky wastelands, keeping themselves to the shadows. Having left the border of Ambera far behind, the Watchers were not a threat… but the savage ghosts were the least of their worries. Under a moonless sky, and through a raging blizzard, they pushed forward, only one thing on their minds:

"We're going to die…"

The Glaceon struggled to keep his balance as the wind whipped down through the crevice in which they traveled. He put every ounce of his strength into keeping up with the Weavile which he followed… and in preserving the willpower to keep going.

"Cyro. We're going to die!!"

The Glaceon glanced back, as if to watch his own words get blown away in the wind. He caught sight of the poor, numb little Mudkip who hopped through the snow behind him. Ice had long since started to form on his fins, and he was shuddering uncontrollably…

He took a quick, fearful glimpse to the shadows behind.

"Cyro!"

"Shut it!" The Weavile grunted, not looking back. "We're not going to die. Not if I can help it."

"Cyro, we can't do this," the Glaceon said again. "Do you realize where we are? Where we're going?? We can't survive in Zerferia!"

"You're an Ice-type. You'll be fine."

"Cyro, I'm losing strength. I can't stay like this for long," the Glaceon called back. "Besides, Saph is about to pass out."

"Dy… We don't have time to complain! Just… keep…"

"Cyro, no! We… we can't! We can't go on!"

The Weavile stopped in her tracks. With a distraught sigh, she cast a glance back at her two teammates. While she felt fine enough to keep going, the adrenaline of raw fear still pulsing through her, she saw that neither the Mudkip nor the Glaceon that followed her were nearly as strong. While it pained her to take the risk of stopping, she saw that the Glaceon was right: they were insane. They couldn't survive a trek through the uncharted arctic lands. Not as the conditions were now.

She, too, turned to glance at the dark passageways that lay behind them. She hoped to Arceus that they'd lost or at least delayed their followers.

"Follow me," she grunted loudly, her voice barely overcoming the whistling wind.

--

Soon, the three found themselves huddled close together under the shelter of an overhanging rock. They were safe from the wind, but finding mercy from the subzero temperatures was impossible…

Cyro, the Weavile, stood over her two companions and watched as they slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Genuine worry glimmered in her eyes, her breath catching with uncertainty as she eyed the harsh environment outside.

Dy, the Glaceon, allowed a shudder to overtake his body. His form wavered, his skin melting from the ice-blue color of the snow Pokémon into a purple, amorphous mass. Once his form become unrecognizable, it started to take shape again, growing and expanding into the form of a furred canine. Without a reference to guide him, the Ditto struggled to remember the fire-type's shape, picturing it in his mind's eye with all his heart… as a result, he succeeded in taking the form of a Growlithe, albeit a slightly misshapen one. But once he felt the fire burning inside of him, he knew it was all that mattered.

"S-s-so cold…" Saph, the Mudkip, whimpered weakly as he pressed himself against the Growlithe's furry belly.

Dy curled tight around his unfortunate friend, whose body was still in a continual spasm. He breathed over him, hoping to comfort the sore, frostbitten spots on his body…

"I should start a fire," Dy decided. "We could probably…"

"Don't," Cyro warned quickly. "No fire. No light. Not even a hint. We'd give away our position."

"How did this happen…?" Saph whispered. "Why did this happen…? So fast…?"

There was a wordless moment, the first, perhaps, when the three had gotten the chance to realize what had just taken place. It had all happened so fast… so brutally, blindingly fast…

They'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothing more, nothing less. It was after hours at the Snowcrest town library. Cyro's passion, which she shared with her three-Pokémon team, involved an obsession with humans and their artifacts. Every day, she made a point of researching these old, mysterious, and sometimes magical objects, and the Mystery Dungeons they could be lost within… and as her team used their knowledge and skill to serve the Emerald Division, she chased these relics out of her undying respect for the human race, as well as for her mother, who had fallen to the Master's soldiers because of her life's work and study of humans…

One moment, Cyro and her team had been pouring over a map, doing their usual research before their next mission…

The next moment, they overheard something they were not supposed to hear…

And, just like that, they were fugitives. They knew too much. At all costs, the Master needed them dead. Before they could blink, one of the Master's best assassins was on their tail...

So they fled. They fled until they grew weary, then they fled some more, until they left Ambera far behind and found themselves lost in the dark, inhospitable reaches of Zerferia…

"We accepted this life," Cyro muttered, keeping a wary eye to the blizzard outside. "When we joined the resistance, we accepted that the Master would kill us the first chance he got. I could have started a simple exploration team. But no. I so hated the Master for what he did, I chose to start a resistance team… And now that we know the whole Emerald Division is in danger…"

"Cy, we're the ones in danger right now," Dy halfway laughed. "They're after us. They're going to do everything in their power to kill us before we so much as have the chance to warn the Division."

"Not if I can help it," Cyro said again, clenching her fist. "If we go deep enough, they'll think Zerferia did the job for them. Then maybe we could come back—"

"No," Dy said sadly. "No, they won't. They saw you. They know what kind of Pokémon you are. They know you can survive out here for a long time. They're going to hunt you down until they have your head on a stake. Cyro… this is it. Our time… it's up."

Cyro bit her tongue, knowing he was right. She knew it looked hopeless. No… not just looked… _was_ hopeless. She said nothing in reply, only staring out into the wintery oblivion as she felt a weakening throb fill the pit of her stomach. Any future she thought she had was gone, about to be crushed to shards by the Master, just like it had been with her mother. The last moments of her life were to be spent cowering in the corner of an unfamiliar land, waiting for death to overtake her.

_This can't happen_, she said to herself, knowing full well that she had no control over things. _There must be something we can do. Something!_

"C-Cyro," the Growlithe said, stuttering. Cyro blinked in response—the stutter had not been from cold, but from some sort of fear or uncertainty. "Cyro, I guess… I should tell you something… Y'know, now that we're… we're going to die…"

Cyro said nothing; she only stood over her companions and awaited Dy's words, not knowing, and perhaps not caring, what they could be…

"I was never… well, that much into archeology," the Growlithe admitted, looking ashamed. "Actually, I kinda think it's boring."

"Really," Cyro said simply. "After all this time, you're telling me this? And if that's the case, why did you want to join my t—"

Cyro's breath caught; the expression on Dy's face told her everything she needed to know. He stared at her with deep, sad eyes, eyes that longed for what might have been, if only things had happened differently…

And Cyro returned his gaze. Without a word having been said, it made sense to her. For once, she understood why Dy had devoted himself to her team…

"Dy," Cyro uttered, mouth agape.

A voice unexpectedly tore through the silence of the moment.

"Go," it commanded.

The little Mudkip turned to him, wearing an angry, determined face.

"Go," he said again. "Leave me behind. Leave me here to die. You two can make it if you go on."

"Saph, _never!_" Dy growled, appalled at the suggestion. "We'll carry you if we have to. I would never leave you behind!"

"No, you have to," Saph growled back. "I'm the one keeping you down. Forget about me and go on ahead. The base needs to know what you know. They need you alive. If I can, I'd help stall them when they get here… But the longer you try to keep me from freezing stiff, the closer they'll—"

"_Quiet!_" Cyro suddenly hissed, terror in her eyes. "I hear something!"

The three stared out into the howling darkness, breaths held. They knew exactly what was upon them, and they knew not to question Cyro's senses. They were about to be overtaken.

"We have to go," Cyro said desperately, leaping to Dy's side and scooping Saph into her arms.

"N—no, you can't—" Saph started.

"You want to die tonight?" Cyro said to him. "Fine. But not here. Dy, get ready. If you're rested, we can throw them off for a little while longer if we move fast enough. It can't be easy for anyone to travel in this weather."

The Ditto didn't even have to be told. In only a moment, his Growlithe form was gone, replaced with the form of a Weavile. The next thing Cyro saw when she turned back was a taller, masculine reflection of herself. It was a form she'd seen Dy take many times in the past, and was the form he seemed to spend most of his time in. Again, she realized that she never thought much of his preference in transformations, and that if she had, she might have understood sooner that he'd had feelings for her. But now, after it was far too late to dwell on such things, she only returned a look of speechlessness.

"I'm ready," Dy said in his deep, raspy Weavile voice, nodding to her. "Lead the way."

With that, they left the cave behind and pressed onward through the rocky, snow-covered crevice. Without the slightest thought of where they would end up or how far behind their pursuers were, their blind flight continued into the night.

"Do you think they actually sent Sicarius after us?" Dy spoke after a while of silence.

"They did," Cyro affirmed. "I _know_ they did. That's the first thing they said."

"With any luck, maybe Adiel's coming after us, too," Saph groaned, now resting in the arms of Dy, his best friend.

"I wouldn't put it past them," Cyro muttered. "The Master doesn't play games—"

She paused in dismay, suddenly taking notice of her new surroundings. Scaling stairsteps and crossing rockslides, they'd managed to follow the gorge as far as possible—but now, it came to an abrupt stop. The trio found themselves before a giant cliff-face as the two sides of the crevice converged on one another, blocking any further progress.

"What now?" Dy wondered.

"Now," Cyro said, "We climb."

Carefully clutching Saph with one arm, and digging his sharp claws and talons into the rough rocks, Dy carefully followed Cyro up the cliff and to the top. When they both reached the summit, they were met something they were not hoping to find: a flat, snow-covered plain. An endless, featureless plain. The blanket of snow and ice glowed in what little light shone down from the cloudy heavens…

There were no hiding places. The shadows which the broken earth had offered extended no further.

"Go," Cyro commanded, taking the lead once more.

"We'll get lost," Dy said. "There's no way to tell which way's which. And there's nowhere to hide. They'll find us—"

"Go!" Cyro said again, putting all of her heart into the word. "It doesn't matter now. Just run. And keep running. And don't stop until everything you have is gone! It's all that matters. Run!"

So they ran. They darted across the flatlands, fighting shifting winds, tiring muscles, and worst of all, the utter loss of the sense of direction. It seemed that as they ran, they made no progress, as the ground underneath simply reeled by, unchanged…

And that is how they would have met their end that night, had it not been for a surprising twist of fate.

When Cyro set foot into yet another indistinguishable patch of land, a powerful roar echoed through the air, greater than the sound of the wind. Too late, she realized the ground was caving in beneath her, and the sound was that of an icy avalanche of rocks crumbling down into some unseen pit…

With a cry of panic, she flailed, reaching for something to hold as she lost her balance and felt herself swallowed by the collapsing ground… only to feel a strong claw clasp her arm and support her. Dy hadn't wasted a moment in acting. He quickly pulled her back and sent both of them careening away, before the snow under his own feet had a chance to slide out from under him…

The next thing anyone knew, Cyro and Dy stood at the edge of a black, bottomless pit. Cyro leaned against Dy's shoulder for a moment, panting, then turned her attention to the spectacle before them…

Saph, who'd long since leapt out of the way to safety, stood at their feet and gawked.

"What was that?!" he cried. "What just happened? What is that??"

"A fissure" Dy said, staring down into the bottomless oblivion. "Must've been an earthquake recently. But apparently it wasn't enough for the ice to collapse until now…"

"No, no," Cyro muttered. "It can't be. Not a fissure. An… entrance."

Her heart skipped a beat. Then another. Could it really be true?

She fell to her hands and knees, peering over the edge. There was no bottom in sight. And the broken oval-like shape of the opening suggested that the passage had formed from completely… supernatural… means.

Yes, she recognized the formation. It was Team Shardrune's life work, after all, to familiarize themselves with the phenomena known as Mystery Dungeons, and they were specialists in exploring and scouring them for the valuable relics they held. But the Mystery Dungeons of Zerferia were uncharted, unexplored, and unconfirmed… rumors, they had been, for not one had ever been found. Until now.

She felt an odd tingle fill her fingertips as they clutched the edge of solid ground. It was a feeling she knew well. The very fabric of space was distorted; it was the familiar characteristic of Mystery Dungeons. And this one… felt more powerful than any she'd ever experienced.

"A dungeon!" she proclaimed. "Dy. Saph. We're saved. We can hide in here. We could escape from them. We… we could live."

"We might not make it," Saph muttered. "We have no supplies. And we have no idea what kind of dungeon this is. It could be two hundred floors long. And no one's ever gone in there before. There'd be no leftover supplies for us to find…"

But the three of them knew that none of that even mattered. This was their chance, their only chance, against all odds, to survive.

"Get in," Cyro ordered, more desperately this time. "I think they're coming. I think… I think I can smell them from upwind…"

Wasting no time, they plunged themselves in, not having the slightest idea what they were in for… or what they were about to start.

A few hundred yards away, a pack of black-furred canines halted in their tracks at the command of their leader. The seven Mightyena stood and stared at attention. They'd been tracking the scent of the runaways, and witnessed with their eyes how they'd vanished beneath the surface of the ice.

The leader, also canine-like, stood on two legs. Frustration beamed from his eyes. He reached out with his mind to search for the auras of the fugitives… but found nothing.

"Enough," he finally growled to his pack. "They've escaped. We must go back."

"Adiel won't accept that for an answer," a Mightyena told him. "You would fail him?"

"Quiet," the dark-furred Lucario spat. "This is _not_ over. Oh, no, no. This is only the beginning…"

ScytheRider presents...

**Emerald Chronicles: A Frozen Flame**

A Silver Resistance story

* * *

_Cyro the Weavile, Dy the Ditto, and Saph the Mudkip of Team Shardrune were created by **Fanatic Drone N**_.

_Sicarius K. Riuyoh the Lucario was created by_ _**Sicarius Riuyoh**_.


	2. Verse 1: A Home Left Behind

_Come one, come all, come gather 'round  
__Come, sit before the fire.  
__Come, lend me your attention,  
A moment of your day._

_All are welcome here tonight  
Before my dancing firelight  
So let none be cast away._

_May every ear and every heart  
Of young and old, and passerby  
Be opened wide to heed my call  
And hear my words resound._

_For tonight, I share a tale.  
A tale of woes, and joys, and strength  
Of reckless hearts and shining souls  
Of those who fought the bitter winds  
Who overturned the fates themselves  
With courageous might profound._

_So listen, children, if you may  
Prepare your hearts and minds  
And for tonight, forget yourselves,  
Cast aside your shame, your burdens  
Your troubles which abound…_

_And as you hear my words tonight,  
Cherish them, and hold them dear,  
Pass them on to all who hear,  
Never to be forgotten,  
And in the flowing stream of time,  
Never to be drowned._

_And as you watch my dancing flame,  
Let it burn into your eyes  
and remain there, frozen, on your mind  
A fire which never dies._

**Verse 1**

My name is Legend. I am a Ninetales.

You might find my name to be somewhat of a conceited thing to call oneself, and I would agree with you, but I was not given the name by choice. A name is something which other people wish to call you, regardless of your approval. It is like the young human who obtains his Chimchar from his elder and bestows upon it the name "Killer"; though the Chimchar may disapprove, the human will never call it by a different name, and so it has no place to argue. Likewise, there came a day when the name "Legend" was chosen for me, so I accepted it, and it grew to be my identity.

My true name, given to me by my father at my hatching, is "Lykaios", an ancient human word meaning "like a wolf". It's a fine name, if I may say so, though a bit awkward to pronounce. But it was not meant to last.

You see, since the day I uttered my first word, I developed a fascination and eventually an infatuation with the spoken language. I enjoyed playing with words, arranging them in powerful patterns, watching as they could move the spirits of all who heard me. As an ember brightly burned at my core, I found I could share it with others, setting their own hearts on fire with the words I'd speak. So dearly I treasured this ability, this talent of primal communication I had, that I nurtured and cultivated it as if it were my child… and so, I became known as a storyteller, a bard whom crowds of Pokémon would flock to, opening their minds so I could fill them with memories, legends, stories, both true and fictitious, or whatever strings of meaning and rhythm I could concoct for them. Living most of my life as a Vulpix under the service of the golden resistance division, I spent many nights entertaining my teammates with my stories, and many more nights sifting through my imagination and recollections of the day's events, trying to inspire myself to an even greater tale I could tell, just for the sake of amusing all my friends just one more time.

But as I matured, I started to question myself. I asked my heart, "Is it right to fill another Pokémon's ears with things that are essentially lies? Is it right to cause their heart to pound and their blood to boil over made-up stories, when I could instead be cultivating passions in them that would help drive them forward in life?"

It was a lengthy, convoluted debate which raged inside of me for months, but when it settled down, I somehow found myself less interested in childish fairy tales and more concerned with things like Ambera's history, legends of the resistance, acts of Arceus and his servants, and true stories of the real world which I lived in, a real world which my friends and I would rise every day to challenge and to change. I became known among my acquaintances as a living incarnation of the history books, a chronicler of Ambera's myths and legends. Thus, I became known as "Legend".

But the legends I memorized and recounted did not just affect those who listened to me speak; they first affected _me_. The more I read of the wars and movements which created the great land of Ambera, of the great dragons and how they moved about the land to shape it, and of the Master who wanted to tear everything down and rebuild it in his own wretched image… the greater my fire burned, and the harder I forced myself. I became a formidable opponent in battle, and a promising child of the resistance.

So, when Prince came to the golden division and looked among the trainees for a recruit, he chose me.

Many things have happened since the day I became a member of Team Flamewheel. Many things have changed.

I sat atop a grassy floor, periodically gnawing on an Aguav berry I had picked from a nearby bush, trying to enjoy the humid interior of the greenhouse while I could. Far above my head and beyond the glassy dome ceiling, the darkened morning sky reflected back to me like a flawless black pearl. It was easy to see that storms were brewing. Snowy thunderclouds were herding in from Zerferia up north, eclipsing the whole of Fort Emerald from everything but the tiniest glow of sunlight.

It wasn't the first time I found myself wondering, yet hardly caring, how I had ended up in the snowbound fortress that housed the Emerald Division.

It was Prince's decision. After many successful years beneath the golden plateau of Ambera's midlands, Prince had something of a change of heart, and he brought us all here. Though he never made his reasons clear, I followed him out of the loyalty and respect he had earned from me, and so did the other five. Together, we pledged ourselves anew to Lucario and Rayquaza's Clutch, and resumed our efforts against the Master's empire, as if to pretend that nothing had happened.

But as much as we tried to pretend, dwelling in the chilly abodes of Fort Emerald was not the same. Things had changed.

For one, Prince acted differently ever since the exodus, something which ultimately affected our team chemistry; Team Flamewheel did not think and move as we once did. His confidence had gradually become something like pretend confidence, his instincts faltering like a flame in the wind. While we never once questioned our loyalty to our friend and leader, and never would, our concern for him and for the integrity of the team itself was undeniable…

"What now?" a voice asked weakly from nearby.

Canniah, the Arcanine, sat beside me. A meaty leg of some unidentified Pokémon lay at her forepaws, though, like me, her heart was not into her breakfast. Her gaze downcast, she watched the motionless blades of turquoise grass, every breath a deep sigh…

Oh, Canniah, what a sweet and pure-hearted soul she was; it pained me to see her so heartbroken. Through the worst of times, she was the one I would turn to for optimism. And not just the bubbly, excitable kind of optimism, but the true, heartfelt kind – the kind which assures one to the deepest extent that, as long as there is life, there is a reason to live. Truly, words begin to escape me when speaking of her; she was not fierce, nor stubborn, nor quick to anger – but gentle, so very gentle, graceful, perceiving the world with wisdom beyond her years, and acting like a mother, or perhaps a sister, to every Pokémon blessed with her company. Even just a glance into her eyes would remind me of the boundless beauty of life, and challenge me never to dwell on my shame or my shortcomings…

I would taste a lie to say my heart did not burn with feelings for her. How could it not? It was her nature, her graceful, enduring nature which held me captive, leading me to admire and cherish every aspect of her. So vulnerable a nature it was, though nothing could ever hurt her; she walked through the world like a baby Eevee who wanders into a serpent's den, and through it all she remained untouched, as though the will of Arceus imbued in the fabric of life itself could not bear to see her harmed. To my eyes, every tuft of orange fur across her form brimmed and danced as radiant tongues of flame, betraying the beauteous, ethereal glory of her inner ember…

Now, you might be asking, "Legend, the renowned bard and poet you are, surely you of all Pokémon could have found a way to express yourself to her?" And yes, I would say to you, of course I could have. I knew since the moment I met Canniah that it was fully within my abilities to prance about her feet and spew love ballads until she would madly fall for me. But was it my place to do so? Alas, absolutely not. She belonged to Prince, and he to her; she had been his student since the days she was a Growlithe, training with him and bonding her heart to his. They had pledged themselves to one another, though not out in the open… so, who would I be to hurt her, cast her mind into confusion, as well as to essentially stab my respected leader and deep friend in the back? Because I loved her, I had to refuse her. It was an easy decision, not a particularly painful one; she was my teammate, and so I enjoyed spending every waking day of my life at her side. I was perfectly content with that.

But even my beautiful Canniah could not bear the weight of recent events. She trembled, staring distantly at whatever thoughts danced before her eyes… when she glanced at me, I returned her gaze, letting her know that I fully shared her anguish…

The greatest change we faced since our move, the most difficult to deal with, was our team's reputation – or lack thereof. We had won the hearts of the golden division and greatly enjoyed the attention and support we received, especially from our partners of Team Whitegold, and Team Remorse… but in Rayquaza's Clutch, our respect remained unearned. Lucario and many of the division's best did not trust in our capabilities, so they treated us like hatchling children...

…And it didn't help that when we finally won a respectable mission for our team, we failed it.

Frozen Spring had been taken. One hundred eighty-seven innocent Pokémon were dead, crushed beneath the Master's fist.

It was such a simple defeat. Our plan relied on secrecy, yet one messenger, one little mole, had slipped past us… Such an obvious mistake in hindsight, and it was not the fault of any one of us, but all of us… we all assumed when we should not have, trusted things we should have feared…

As far as losses have gone in the war against the Master, this one was small; the Master was a heartless creature committed to the continuing genocide of all Ambera's habitants, and so it was not unusual for him to slaughter entire cities at once in his quest for whatever he happened to fancy at the time… but knowing these deaths could have been avoided... postponed… that these deaths were the result of our failure… it made them grave. My heart ached for the lost, my soul profusely apologizing to theirs should they happen to hear me…

"I don't know," I whispered in reply. It was the simple, unbent truth, and it was all I could think of to say.

A way across the room sat another of our teammates: Vallon, the hard-headed Rhydon, slowly choking down his morning diet of berries and rocks. Here was a Pokémon I knew since childhood, though not pleasantly; during our training at the golden division, we were bitter enemies. Though we both served on different teams and did not meet on a regular basis, he as a trainee on Team Avalanche and I on Team Carrier, it was as the meeting of a Zangoose and Seviper every time we crossed paths. Something about my attitude or perhaps my very existence deeply offended him, and so, at each sight of my face he would attempt to forcefully bury it into the nearest wall. In retaliation, I strung together insults that would have brought Arceus to his knees! I'm not convinced he understood many of them, but it made him burst with fury, and to me, it was the sign of my victory over him. Oh, what a horrible enmity it was, and all over nothing! Nothing but pride.

I prefer not to tell how I reacted when I learned Vallon was to be a long-term partner. Apparently, his strength had stood out to Prince just as mine did, and we were both picked… Suffice to say that I destroyed some things, and that a psychic was called to disable my voice for a time…

But, against all odds, that day marked the end of our hatred for one another. Ever since, a peculiar kinship formed between the two of us. While it seemed there was still every reason for our natures to clash, as he was quick to anger and I harbored the particular type of pride known for setting it off, we found that we complemented one another at the strangest of times, and we grew to appreciate the company of the other as one of the most pleasant aspects of life on our team. Our incompatibility became something like a friendly rivalry, and we used it to amuse and better ourselves.

Vallon acted as the designated muscle of the team, his brute strength dwarfing any of ours. Since our team favored the element of fire, Prince selected him to lend support wherever fire would not be enough. And a good choice, he was. Vallon is always happily obliged to tear something down, whether it be a solid stone wall or an enemy Pokémon. He holds back his strength during our team's training sessions, but I still often find him undefeatable; his armor will not break, and he can counter most every battle technique I am capable of… that, and he has mastered the art of snagging me by a tail and tripping me up… as if I had any power to keep them all out of the way in the first place…

They say that a Ninetales has the power to curse anyone who touches their tails, and to that, I say I wish I knew how. There must be some truth to it, since the claim is prominently asserted in many legends and history books; I figure I must have a few more centuries to live before I begin to acquire whatever supernatural powers they speak of…

Perhaps, if the Master is someday defeated, living that long will be a possibility.

For all our painstaking effort, it was a goal Team Flamewheel was unable to further. No, instead, the Master had _advanced_ on us, pushing that goal farther from our reach…

What is it about failure which drags the heart into despair, and binds it so that it may not escape? Tell a story, and failure is often a joyous thing… a strengthening experience, a reason to bound back into the challenge with a blazing spirit, for revenge, or for honor, or for justice… and even those failures which can only be called tragedies are often just another kind of victory… a point proven, a lesson learned, a word of wisdom to the future generations…

In the real world, it is not so. There is no justification to be found in failure. A failure cannot be spun, twisted into something positive, even by the most masterful wordsmith… It remains, like a monolith strapped to the back, clear as day for all to see… there is no way to release it, so it stays with you, for the whole span of your life… forgotten, maybe… diminishing in comparison to other issues, maybe still… but it remains. And it hurts. And it will always hurt, bearing down upon your shoulders, the greatest pain in knowing that the failure was _yours_, and not another soul placed it upon you. You _chose_ it.

Indeed, it was a dark day for our team that morning. I sat, wondering if Lucario would find it in his heart to expel us from the division we had joined just eight months ago. Wondering, but not caring, where we would go. In resistance work, it was not an issue to give "chances"; second chances were always implied. Rayquaza's Clutch was like a family of brothers and sisters, and it was not usual to banish a brother from the family he belongs to, even after making a mistake. But, by the same token, we needed to be a reliable team. We needed to do the work which was cut out for us. If Lucario deemed that we were too incompetent to live up to his high standards…

I didn't know, but I knew with a mellow sense of dread that I soon would. All of us would.

"He's late," Vallon noted, nervously pawing at the ground and combing the grass with his dulled white claws. "On a morning like this, he's late…"

"I don't blame him," I muttered, not caring if the sound of my voice reached his ears. "It takes an extra effort to rise to such a harsh reality… And where you and I rise with the burden of one, he rises with seven… and a thousand more atop that…"

"We'll all have more than a thousand problems if we're late," Vallon grumbled forcefully.

"We won't be late," Canniah spoke plainly. "He'll come."

"He'd better," Vallon replied, half-whispering, his voice betraying worry. "I hope he—"

As if on cue, the resounding _smack_ of metal against wood tore through the greenhouse—the entryway had been slammed open. The three of us held our tongues and turned to behold the imposing form of a tall Infernape filling the portal. It stood there for a few passing moments, silent, its outstretched arm pinning the wooden door against the archway. It glared at us, but peacefully, its face distraught with fifty different kinds of inner pain…

Prince Calamar Morfeaux Distragnatia, or simply "Prince" as we called him, was the white-hot steel which fused our team together, his fiery spirit the pilot-light which gave life and direction to our efforts.

As I understand his past, his grandfather was the favored Pokémon of a human who ruled a small but significant country across the sea. Through his bond with the king, the Infernape learned the art of politics and leadership, until the human bestowed onto him command of all the country's Pokémon. So, just as his master was the king of humans, he was the king of Pokémon. In times of need, he led them in protection of the humans, and in times of peace, he managed their service to the king. The little country, whatever it was named, thrived well under this joint rule.

Should Prince have stayed with his father and country, it would have been his birthright to assume his family's role… But for some reason or another, Prince found himself on the continent of Ambera, where he wandered the land until he settled in a town called Aronwood. There, he acted as a martial arts instructor for a time, training his students in the arts of self-mastery and helped them to unlock the full potential of their fire and combat skills… until one day he intercepted a team from the golden division on a covert mission, and learned of the resistance…

My grasp on Prince's history is fuzzy at best, so it isn't a story I tell with confidence. Prince has told me no more than what I have just told you. I suspect he might be ashamed of his past. I also suspect his memory might have failed him, leading him to fill the gaps with his imagination. Whatever the case, it would be my last intention to pressure him into revealing things against his will, for my respect for him is boundless, my service to him unquestioning. He has shown me a god's kindness, all while challenging and honing me, and made me ten times the Pokémon I would have been without him. If I were to die for him, it would still fail to repay half of my debt to such a magnificent leader and companion.

But… that morning, as habit commanded me to greet my leader and bid him a good morning, I bit down on my tongue. A reverent silence was most appropriate, I felt, though it was soon shattered anyway.

"You're here," Vallon grunted. "Thought you'd run us late."

Prince said nothing in reply. A bit slouched, he stepped into the room and approached the nearest fruit-bearing tree, stumbling now and then onto his hands. He paused for a few moments at the trunk of a Wepear Tree, fixating upon a hanging branch lined with berries. The fire adorning his crown burned dimly.

"What happened?" Prince muttered, practically to himself, refusing to lend his gaze to anyone but the tree.

Taking the question as rhetorical, I reflected upon the events leading up to our failure, preparing for a difficult lecture.

"Well?" Prince rasped, much louder than before. "What happened?!"

"You know as well as the rest of us what happened," Vallon shouted back, climbing to his hind feet. "What, should we just repeat it over again? Do you want Legend to sing it to you? Ah, why not? Legend, weave us all a tale of the great Infernape and his team who let a hundred Pokémon _die_ just because he didn't know how to set up a border patrol! Maybe you could even give it a happy ending!"

A sudden _crack_ filled the air as Prince swung his fist and pummeled the nearest berry with all his might, not even blinking at the fountain of Wepear juice which erupted before his face. He turned, rage brimming from his eyes, and sent Vallon a deathful glare. After a few seconds of quiet, the glare fell to me.

"That isn't what I mean," Prince spoke, his voice absolutely serious and concerned, as he stepped over the shattered berry and came to join us. "That's the question Lucario will ask, and yes, it will take Legend's tongue to give him an answer. But… what happened to _this team_? Look back a few years, and remember… we were _perfect_. Where has our strength gone? I understand what happened at the spring. I believe we all do. But I can't bring myself to understand _why_. What… what could have led us to make those mistakes? What about _the barricade_? Tell me, what changed since then?"

Vallon nodded, but said nothing.

The mentioning of "the barricade" always brought a flurry of warm thoughts to mind, even on such a cold morning as that one. It was our team's most glorious victory back when we served under the golden division. So many elements came together, and so _perfectly_, as if Mew herself guided our actions… Ah, I would need four nights to give true justice to that epic tale…

It was our best day, and the brightest we've ever shined. It was not luck; every little detail had been orchestrated by us, every skill of ours utilized, drawing out the façade as long as it needed to go… and without so much as a casualty on our side, or any little hiccup…

"Legend!" Prince barked, breaking from the comforting memory. "On the night of the barricade, we thought to keep a watch to the southwest. Do you remember?"

"Perfectly," I responded. "If we hadn't, the Empoleon faction would have taken us by surprise. We crushed them as soon as we knew what they were planning."

"And yet, at the Spring, it never crossed our minds to keep a watch to the north," Prince blared at me, stomping his foot on the ground and shaking his fist at the air. "Why? _Why??_ What _changed_? If we were the same team we were twelve years ago, we _would_ have countered the traitor. We _would_ have kept a wary eye to the most unlikely direction. But we didn't. _Why_?? I want to know, _Why??_ What _changed_??"

It was Canniah who dared to say what I could not.

"This isn't the Gold Division anymore, Prince," She uttered sternly. "Maybe it's time you told us why you brought us here?"

"That shouldn't have anything to do with it," Prince grumbled, averting his gaze.

"Yet, it might," I offered. "Here, our flames are stifled by the cold. Even you cannot deny it, my Prince. I've seen it in your eyes since the first day we arrived here. Rayquaza's Clutch has taken its toll on your skill, your confidence. And, in case I forgot to admit it, mine as well. Each morning, I clench my teeth and fight on, but I cannot deny my own nature."

I nodded to Vallon and Canniah, hoping they would help support my claim.

"You forget that we didn't make the barricade work all by ourselves," Canniah said. "Scythe's team was there. They were the whole reason for the barricade. And Aether's team, and Condor's team... they were all there with us, even if they were all busy with their own jobs. They gave us support."

"Indeed, we left much behind when we came here," I told my Prince, "perhaps some things which defined us."

I held my breath, bearing the ensuing silence as I awaited Prince's response to my pointed suggestions. His gaze returned to me, locking with my eyes, while he weighed and considered my words.

"You want to know why we came here?" Prince finally pronounced for the three of us to hear. "That conviction you present, Legend, is the same one I wanted to disprove. We _need _to be here, in every sense of the word _need_. Alakazam doesn't need our help. He has Aether, Scythe, and the rest. They are more than enough to accomplish any task he needs. And I began to realize that they have weakened us. Their support made us less capable a team, made us dependant on things we should be able to make do without. I brought you here… so that I could see with my own eyes how great we were, and how great we could become. We _belong_ here."

"Is that what this is? Suffering for the sake of suffering?" Vallon roared, though not violently. "You wanted to train us? See how much we could take? Well, congratulations, you found your answer. If suffering is what you wanted, that's what you got. Now you get to stand before Lucario and explain to him why you let hundreds of Pokémon die, and feel every last shred of shame as he judges you!"

"Not suffering for its own sake, no!" Prince insisted, fists clenched. "No, try to see it the way I see it: the taste of cold reality, without the distraction of unnecessary comfort or bloated pride. But… if… what you say is true, Legend, Canniah… if it was really the Gold Division which made us great in the first place, and we really are this weak… by the gods, I didn't want it to be true, but perhaps it is… we deserve this reputation. And we deserved this defeat. And we deserve every… last… shred of shame we have now."

We paused for a couple moments to swallow Prince's words. As I heard this explanation, I found they were not too far from my natural assumptions in the first place: that there was something in the difficulty, the challenge of it all, that he desired. Prince treated the move as a training experience, albeit an ambitious one, but he figured we were up to the task.

Though, I determined, this couldn't be all of it. Why, I wondered, had he refused to discuss this topic until now? And what of the sudden nature of our departure? Though he had revealed his reasons, respectable as they were, for our relocation to Fort Emerald, I could tell he still hid something… for, you see, even reasons often have reasons.

"Well, come on," Prince beckoned with a nod. "I won't delay this any more. Let's face this meeting, and see if there is even a tomorrow to look forward to… or if we must find one for ourselves."

"You didn't eat anything," Canniah pointed out in concern. "Will you be alright?"

"I'll fast for now," Prince grumbled, eyeing the destroyed berry as he began to pace back to the entryway.

Disregarding our unfinished food, we fell in line and accompanied our leader out into the blistering winds of northern Ambera, staying as strong as we could against our miserable anticipation of what was about to come.

* * *

**Emerald Outskirts**

It was always a long and chilly walk from District Eight's greenhouse to Rayquaza's Clutch. Though it was a walk we made once a week with few exceptions, it never seemed to grow any shorter. Fort Emerald's population was rather small, quite shy of being a metropolis—even smaller was the count of Pokémon who actually lived within the fortress walls, but rather relied on it for weekly supplies of necessities. Most of the resistance teams lived upon the Emerald Outskirts, which spanned a very great mass of land; roads were lengthy, neighborhood districts were far between, and there was rarely an obscured view of the horizon across the empty fields, save for the jagged mountain range to the northeast. Much of the population which called Fort Emerald home lay among the plains beyond the tall steel walls of the obsolete military fortress which bore the name. It was a security measure, I suppose; the Emerald Division, which composed the entirety of the city's population, drew less suspicion from the Master by spreading out.

As we hiked down the cold dirt pathway, I eyed the sky. Even in the dim light of the emerging sun, I saw how the clouds moved quickly, pushed by a forceful wind. It would easily rain, snow, hail, or some combination of the three before the day was done. The trip home wasn't something I looked forward to.

Like every morning, I found myself desiring a higher rank among the Division for nothing more than permission to live within the actual fortress and forgo the long commute, especially after how the golden division had spoiled us rotten with a spacious upstairs room. Though it was a longer walk downstairs to the base's facilities, coming and going from missions was an instant gratification, as we dwelled at the same level as the doorways and never needed to fight our way through the morning crowds which flooded the lower halls and staircases. I sighed at the memory, watching as a plume of mist jutted from my nostrils...

The roads were empty. Not another Pokémon, save for the perpetual sentry birds which circled far overhead or the wild Swinub that scurried away when we drew near, accompanied us on our hike. It was for the very same reason that the greenhouse and the whole of District Eight, our miniscule neighborhood, was practically unoccupied… we were late. Late to the weekly meeting. Well, that is to say, we were not yet missing any of it, but the road downtown was several miles; we would not have the luxury of walking the whole way. For a few precious minutes, we took it slow and let our breakfast settle.

The landscape of northern Ambera was ravaged and barren, save for a few robust species of trees and grass that could somehow thrive in the cold, cracked dirt and the chilly temperatures. I always found a strange, haunting beauty in the scenery as I walked through it, as if I were viewing it through a picture frame at an art museum, the painter having masterfully captured the desolate soul of the setting with only a few shades of grayish-white and brown. It glowed in the morning sun, the ground ebbing so subtly as it spanned out to the horizon line, like a receding ocean's tide frozen in time. Gorgeous, my heart wanted to call it, though I was never sure why. Perhaps only because it was my homeland. Perhaps also because it had a story to tell.

As the legends have told, the land we treaded upon was once a mighty forest of pinewood, immeasurable in its length, home to countless Pokémon. But long before I was born, long before the Watchers existed, long, long before even the Master rose to power, a war broke out across the land. It is said that some Pokémon of great power had succeeded in capturing the legendary Rayquaza, binding it and holding it within the deepest bowels of steel prison walls. Of course, in the face of such an incredible power, civilization became anarchy as Pokémon fought amongst themselves to take the god and its power for their own… and in the merciless fury of the war, the forest was burned to the ground, the roots forever destroyed by the Pokémon which swam through the earth below. Over the years, the ashes hardened and became a new land, the land on which we lived. Rayquaza's prison was preserved as a stronghold city, continually rebuilt whenever it would crumble, living on to protect its residents through the years in many more times of war. Such is the history of Fort Emerald.

Glancing at the sky a second time, I knew in my heart that the landscape would soon suffocate under a thick blanket of snow and ice. The trees would all die, their life force cowering at their core for the length of the bitter season. The grass would wilt, leaving only the buried roots and seeds to carry on their lineage. The wilds would crawl into their burrows and sleep the months away. It would be the first storm of the winter, as well as my first winter living by Fort Emerald. I hoped my strength would not fail me in the coming months.

In a few minutes, what seemed like far too soon, Prince's voice rang in my ears.

"Enough," he told the three of us. "Our speed has failed us in the past. Our speed failed us when we couldn't catch the traitor as it ran. No more. Starting today, our speed will be honed. Now, run, until your legs burn."

We sprinted on all fours the whole way to the city. We saw no other soul on the road until we crossed through District Two, which sat a mere two miles from the fortress. I was panting like a dog by that time, feeling drained of all the energy I'd just spent the night recuperating. And we'd just about made up for our lost time, as we met some of our companions on the road into town, but still we ran. Prince so hated our weakness that he would stop at nothing to fix it.

At last, with a searing feeling in my chest, I glimpsed at the great black wall which marked the finish line of our run – the fortress.

* * *

**Rayquaza's Clutch**

Fort Emerald was such a lonely place, or at least that's the way it felt in comparison to our old home at the golden division. Alakazam and Metagross had followers in the thousands. Lucario? Only about five hundred, last time we conducted a census. Of course, there were few truly up to the challenge of resistance work in the first place. Lucario made quite sure that every Pokémon under his command, and especially every team leader, was tough, rugged, and capable enough to fight the tireless campaign against the vile one. There were no "training teams" among our ranks—as Lucario had once said, any children fit to work for him could just as well be trained on the field of battle.

The Emerald Division was divided into districts, one to ten, which were scattered about the plains around the fortress. Two to five teams dwelled in each district. The true base of operations, however, was the fortress itself, which we would constantly visit to stock supplies, access resources, and to attend the weekly meeting in which Lucario would address every team and review the status of our circumstances as a single resistance division. These meetings were held in a large, steel-reinforced city hall at the very center of the fortress—a place we called Rayquaza's Clutch.

Rayquaza's Clutch was the true core of the Emerald Division. It was named so for having been the very prison which Rayquaza was held captive so many centuries ago. In honor of this memory, a giant, life-size stone statue of the sky dragon was carved and erected before the front main door of the complex, glowing green gemstones imbued in place of eyes. It was a sight which I marveled at each time I entered the place (even though I would admit the Palkia statue in the golden division's meeting hall was slightly more awe-inspiring).

Rayquaza's Clutch was also the dwelling place of Lucario and his Team Regret, the resistance team with the profound distinction of being the first ever formed. It was Lucario who carried the torch of his great-grandfather, who, as legends go, grew so angry at the Master's existence for stifling his freedom that he retreated to Zerferia for nine days. On the tenth, he began his trek home, bringing with him a fierce decision: that if he could not live life to its fullest with the Master in the way, he would do Pokémon everywhere a favor and plot to remove him from the picture. As he stepped back across the border into Ambera, he uttered the fateful words: "I'm going to regret this…" And thus, the resistance was born.

Laugh if you wish, but there aren't many who can laugh at how sturdy the resistance has become since then. Pokémon hated the Master since the beginning and wished for him to fall off his throne, a throne not made of respect, but purely of power and influence. But they could do nothing, for they were not unified. Any guerilla efforts were stifled by the Master's unbeatable legions of followers. It was Lucario's ancestor who united the resistance, harnessing a scattered dream and working it into a strong reality. Though Lucario no longer headed the whole resistance – there was none who did, as the resistance had split into three parts – he was the leader of the division he felt was the most efficient and reliable, and it was up to his followers to live according to his high standards.

One of the requirements of the Emerald Division was for each team leader, and ideally every single member of every team as well, to attend the weekly meetings. Needless to say, disregarding the meetings except under the most extreme of circumstances, or barging in just one minute after it had begun, did not bode well for a team's reputation.

We had successfully taken our places in the courtyard with time to spare, though we all looked as if a legion of Blastoise had chased us down the road. Several members of Lucario's team eyed us strangely.

The courtyard of Rayquaza's Clutch was anything but noteworthy. It was a square, open-roofed garden at the middle of the prison house, bearing simple grass, with some overhanging shelters lining the edges. In stormy times, we would power a machine that produced a force-field above the garden, protecting it from precipitation. Many of us jokingly called it the air-lock, in honor of Rayquaza, as it kept out the unpleasant weather.

"Thus begins the six hundred fifteenth week of the fourth dynasty of the great resistance," Lucario announced at the center of the courtyard, nearly all twenty-eight teams of the division present and paying attention. "Forty-three days remain until the Call should arrive, so keep your hearts open and attentive… no matter how small or quiet the Call, I would hate to see it go unanswered. Now, I have some important matters to touch upon this morning. Due to recent events, it has come to my attention that a paradigm shift may be in order. As you know, we have laid low, playing the patience card with the one we despise, refraining from placing our full deck on the table. This may need to change. At present, there are several reasons to suggest the Master may begin momentum in our jurisdiction during the following winter months."

Not a murmur filled the room. No one dared to interrupt. We all listened intensely, concerned and fearful… me, in anticipation of his public acknowledgement of our failure, which would undoubtedly cost us _something_, if not our whole position in the division…

Certain thoughts cycled through my head. Deep inside, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to make Prince happy. I wanted to make Lucario happy. If the Master was about to pick up momentum in our area, I wanted to be there when it happened, ready to shine like the sun and to fight alongside all my brothers. I didn't want to think about leaving the shelter and support of the division to become an independent team…

So I waited. I waited for the ridicule, knowing that I would deserve every word of it. I had not the courage to glance into the eyes of my teammates, knowing that they felt the same...

"First, I would like to follow upon our progressions last week," Lucario continued, pacing across the grass-covered ground as he spoke. "Though Team Beacon's effort at the Palace last month was successful, it has recently been nullified by the work of outside operatives whom we believe to be working for the enemies. I regret to announce that they have severed the trade route we have worked so hard to solidify. There is no reason—none—that the Master would target the Palace unless he is executing plans to increase his watch in this area. It brings us worry."

My fear and concern, so very slightly, started to become true insecurity. The trade route from Snowcrest to the Stone Palace was forged to supply us with more funds, to very subtly route merchandise to Fort Emerald before the Master had a chance to ration them to himself. In theory, the effort had a very small failure chance. That having fallen… was not a good sign.

"Additionally, it is with a heavy heart I inform you of Team Flamewheel's tragic loss of the Frozen Spring. What was planned to be an out-of-the-way safe haven for our desperate refugees at the border has been destroyed after a five-week campaign… and now, it remains yet another infested stronghold… and it raises the same issue. Why would the Master target the Frozen Spring in the first place? We expected some trouble, but the sheer force by which the Master retaliated strongly suggests that there is something hidden from us, something we can't yet see… "

I blinked. That was it? I expected him to discuss our failure, but not as a passing comment. Perhaps, I wondered, I had tripped over my own pride once more, dwelling too far on the failure rather than the bigger picture…

"Which brings me to my main point," Lucario declared very loudly, turning to glare straight at us. Though I figured it was done rhetorically, I had to resist the strong urge to wince, and I quickly corrected my posture. "Before we commence with the rest of the status reports and proceedings, a matter of urgency has arisen. According to our sources at Snowcrest, a new Mystery Dungeon has been unearthed… some ten miles past the border to Zerferia. I heard the report days ago, but thought it insignificant. I was wrong."

Lucario turned to address the entire congregation, but then locked his gaze with Prince once more. I held my breath. It was unmistakable. He _was_ going to address us directly…

"There is an issue. Word has spread about this Mystery Dungeon, now known as Destiny Abyss among exploration teams. They say that a crystal lies at the very bottom floor, a crystal with the power to grant a Pokémon's deepest dreams. Now, crowds of explorers are flocking to Snowcrest, setting off for their grand excursions into Zerferia to attempt this new dungeon… And in the process, setting their lives on the line… In fact… I have reason to believe a couple of our very own teams, including Team Shardrune and Team Sustenance, have succumbed to this rumor. Since the discovery of the dungeon, both teams have failed to show at my congregation. Upon further searching, both seem to have disappeared without a trace."

Needless to say, _this_ sparked some murmuring throughout the room. I personally didn't know what to say or to think at that point; a new Mystery Dungeon, and in Zerferia, was the last thing anyone expected to find!

"Therefore, I am assigning a mission. Prince, of Team Flamewheel… tell me, where are your other three members?"

"On a DC mission, presently, Your Honor" Prince replied humbly. "They are due back in four days."

"Good," Lucario responded. "Prince, although I am heartbroken at your recent misfortune, I must plead to you not to lose heart. I have need of your particular skills. If you would accept the assignment, I would like for you to deploy yourselves against this issue with as much haste as you can manage. Find this dungeon which the rumors speak of, rescue those unfortunate souls who have fallen for the temptation, and if you have any members left to spare, help us quell the gathering at Snowcrest. These poor Pokémon may be after a treasure, but they are throwing themselves straight into the Master's line of sight, and they risk much more than they realize. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Prince responded.

"Therefore, will you take this as your responsibility?" Lucario asked.

"Without hesitation, Your Honor," Prince answered proudly.

I blinked once again, wondering how we had gained Lucario's trust by way of our failure, and how we had dodged the consequences of that failure in the first place. It came like a thief in the night, stealing away our shame and misery before we knew they were gone...

…Somehow, at the most unlikely of times, we had finally been promoted.

And so, that's how the whole situation started. So simple, it seemed at first. Dungeon explorations had been our specialty for some time, and we hadn't yet found one we couldn't tackle with some effort… After all, we weren't weak! We were Team Flamewheel! We had constructed The Barricade, we had defeated the Ghosts of Linden Peak, and countless other victories. With a reborn excitement, I smiled, ready for whatever the world, and the Master, would attempt to throw at us this time. We wouldn't back down! We wouldn't lose!

Oh, but how something so simple can spiral out of control so fast… indeed, Prince's words of acceptance were fateful words… Not just for us, but for _everyone_…

Something told me I would soon have a new story to tell.


	3. Verse 1, Part 2

A gentle flurry of snow drifted down from the cloudy sky, coming to rest upon a landscape of shattered granite bricks and crumbling buildings.

A Quilava and a Vigoroth dragged the corpse of a slain Sealeo down a cracked street, smearing its blood across the rocky pavement. Soon, they arrived to a severed bridge. Heaving, they tossed the limp body through the break and down into the stream below, letting the heavy current flush it downstream and out of sight. Without pause, they turned and headed back into town to continue with their job.

…Rather, what used to be a town.

Such was the Frozen Spring. Just days ago, a perfect haven for Pokémon who dwelled in freezing temperatures. Now… all that remained was a heap of rubble, strewn with crushed, impaled, and severed corpses... all who had lost their lives in the massacure of powerful attacks which razed the city in a mere hour... and the minions of the Master who swarmed the ruins, busying themselves with cleaning up the incident, unceremoniously discarding the corpses of the innocent into the surrounding wilderness. The Master had no use for burying those who defied him. Their deaths meant nothing. Nothing, perhaps, but progress.

In the midst of this aftermath, a Heracross stood at a street corner, stunned at the tragic scene which surrounded him. He still couldn't believe… couldn't fathom… the Master's heartlessness.

_Why does he never ask_, the Heracross wondered sadly. _Does he even realize… all he must do is ask, and he has whatever he desires… The townsfolk would all do what he asks. Every Pokémon of Ambera fears him. But does he utilize this fear to his benefit? No, he just accumulates more of it with every move he makes… I wonder… I wonder if the Master is so far responsible for halving Ambera's population…_

"You! Bug!"

A voice barked at the Heracross, but it made no move to respond. There was nothing more they could do to him than they already have.

"Hey, you! Bug! You're not with us," the voice called again.

The Heracross turned an eye to the curbside. Both the Quilava and the Vigoroth had ceased their work, and before them stood what appeared to be the manager of their task: a particularly heavy-built Arcanine. Quickly, yet cautiously, the furry beast approached to confront him.

"Who are you?" the Arcanine insisted, though not violently. "Can't you see? This city has been removed from the map. What business do you have here?"

"Why?" the Heracross spoke. "Why destroy this city? Such a pretty city you came and destroyed, and for what? What does the Master need from this place that he couldn't get just by asking?"

"Wonder the same myself, from time to time," the Arcanine admitted. "Probably just because it's far enough from his fortress, he's grown paranoid of not keeping a close eye…"

"Then… why not move the Pokémon?" the Heracross griped, stomping the ground with his hind talon, causing a small earthquake to pulse. "Why kill them? What's the point?"

Motioning for his workers to carry on without him, the Arcanine further approached the curbside on which the beetle stood. "Easier, probably," he answered, shrugging as he sat himself down on the curb. "Moving around Pokémon is hard work, lots of politics involved… if there's one thing I've learned about working for the Master, he hates work."

"And I'm guessing the slaughtering is more play than it is work," the Heracross sneered bitterly, shaking a claw at his side. "Sometimes I wonder if he even understands anything he does… Wonder what gives him the right to command half the world… What about you, dog?? Why follow him?"

"Pays well," he answered simply. "Work for the Master, get a free home, and good food, and you're never lonely or without a purpose in life… And the feeling of… I don't know what you would call it… _pride_, maybe, that you're helping to build something greater than yourself, something that'll live on after you die."

"The lot of you all, you make no sense, _none!_" the Heracross hissed. "Ten million Pokémon can live in Ambera and be happy. Yet you find your purpose in killing them. You think you're building something? I'll tell you what the Master's doing, he's building a pile of corpses so he can laugh when they get too high and fall down, then build it up again. That's all you're _building_."

"Ah, I think I get you, bug," the Arcanine spoke, quickly standing himself again, an evil grin of understanding creeping across his face. "I know what you are. You're the resistance, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and _what of it?_" the Heracross yelled back at the canine, glaring hatefully at it. "Want to kill me? Huh? Scent of blood on the concrete not _strong_ enough for you yet? Huh?"

For a second, only a burning glare separated the two enemies. The wind picked up, shrouding the broken city streets in streams of white mist.

"I don't blame you," the Arcanine finally said, averting his gaze and glancing back down the street. "You're the ones doing the right thing, you know. You're the good guys. I respect anyone who can stand up to the one of power… pah… It's more than any of us could do…"

"You make it sound like it's not a choice," the Heracross challenged. "Don't try to justify the-"

"Hah! Hah, hah. You speak of _choice_," the canine interrupted with a malicious growl, refusing to look the beetle in the eye once again. "The things I would do with _that…_ No, bug. All the choices I ever thought I had… they've already been made. They bind me... I can't turn and make them over again."

The wind intensified, a powerful howl arising from a nearby window. The Arcanine stared across the street at the ruins in which his team labored, his thick fur coat rippling across his back. The Heracross followed the direction of his gaze, clenching his claws in useless fury as another lifeless Sealeo was brought from the house over the shoulder of a Hitmonchan like a sack of dried meat.

"I must be going," the Arcanine finally growled. "It's about time to start a fire for my workers. Keep up the good work, bug. As for the city… better luck next time, I suppose."

Without another glance to the beetle, the Master's faithful servant parted and began the return to his workforce. The Heracross eyed it absently as it crossed the street, disappearing into the thickening winds of snow that whipped past. He felt his instincts burn with rage, a desire to tear down the Arcanine and all who worked for him, but he knew it was no longer the time or the place. Frozen Spring wasn't a battlefield. Not anymore.

_We had our chance,_ the Heracross told himself. _A chance survives a moment. And the moment's over…_

_It's over…_

_There's nothing more we can do… we're done here…_

He turned, glancing into the shadows of the alleyways he would take on his return home. Sighing bitterly, he stepped forward.

A shrill battle cry rang out.

The sound of buzzing. Scuffling. A yelp of surprise.

Before he knew it, the Heracross found himself across the street, pinning the Arcanine by the neck to the house's doorstep. The canine panted in fear and growled violently, ready to launch a terrible bout of flames at the drop of a hair, and a low hum emanated from the beetle's still-vibrating wings.

The Heracross winced. He barely knew how he'd managed to end up in such a dangerous position, but it wasn't the first time; his burning intolerance of such injustice often overcame his reason, even when it could cost him his life. But the thing which sometimes made him a reckless fool also made him a hero at others: he was a combat strategist, able to catch the pinhole opening in any situation and exploit his enemy's tiniest mistakes, turning the tide of a fight before the foes would know they were losing. It was in his nature to obey his temper, as it lit the way when situations became overwhelming or confusing…

However, without allies to support him, he had no place challenging Pokémon more powerful or numerous than he. But little did he care; his temper was so swollen, so offended, that it could simply not be ignored.

As he held his captive, pressing his talon forcefully against the canine's neck, he locked gazes with it. Threatening it. Demanding it account for itself. Aside from the reeling shock and terror, the expression which the Arcanine returned had a clear meaning: "You have seconds before my servants investigate the noise and rescue me. You have my attention. What you do you want?"

"It's no excuse. _No excuse,_" the beetle seethed, pressing hard enough to cause the canine to struggle for air. "_Dead! _They're all_ dead!_ All the Lapras, the Seel, the Marill... every one of them, laying in a pool of their own blood at your feet! _DEAD! _Yet you turn up your nose and walk away. You _pretend_ nothing happened here. You_ pretend_... You pretend you committed no crime. So, tell me, _dog_, if not you, who's going to pay the price for this crime, huh?! Who's going to be held accountable for _these deaths_?! Tell me, dog, whose shoulders do expect them to rest on?!"

"Ah, ah heh, heh, _yours_, of course!" the Arcanine gagged out, the claw at his neck stifling his laugh. "They lie... on your shoulders... because... that's what you chose... When you decided to resist... counteract everything we do... you chose to pay the price... Heh... heh heh... not such an easy role you've chosen for yourself, eh, bug?"

"Eh? Mag? Everything alright out there? Mag?"

A Sneasel peered around the corner to check on his master, but by that time, the intruder was gone. All that remained was the Arcanine, still sprawled on the ground and trying to catch its breath.

---

"Nothing more left?"

"Nothing," the Heracross reported, bowing its head in shame. "It's done. They've infested it to the core. If… there once were any more survivors… "

He let the statement hang, the Smeargle which he spoke to nodding in understanding. A painful, brokenhearted silence hung within the tiny cabin room, the Smeargle momentarily ignoring the piles of hard-bound journals and records upon his workdesk.

"Well," the Smeargle sighed, scraping an ink-pen across the page of an opened record book sitting before him. "Twenty-nine is something, I suppose."

"Kabir, tell me something," the Heracross muttered, approaching him. "Do you remember when Team Remorse lost the Basin Canyon? How do you think they managed to escape with over half the population… and then now, even when we knew ahead of time we were lost, we only saved… twenty-nine?"

"Because Team Remorse is _talented_," Kabir replied passively, sarcastically singing his words as he continued writing figures into his journal. "Scythe can read minds and see the future, Daemon corrects him whenever he's wrong, and the whole team is composed of a variety of Pokémon with different strengths and weaknesses which complement one another. And we, by contrast, are lead by an arrogant, closed-minded snob who thinks fire can solve _all his problems_… "

"Yeah, sure, go ahead, insult Prince behind his back, see if that makes you feel any better," the Heracross sneered back. "I'm not in the greatest of moods myself, but it's no excuse to start making--"

"Excuse me, Tangrind, if I failed to answer the question that you posed to me, to _your liking_," the Smeargle interrupted. "As far as I'm concerned, this team is a farce. And it's been one since we stepped out from under the plateau. Countlessly, I've tried to tell him, it's all been a fluke, especially that… _barricade_… But he never listens. He's blind. Doesn't want to see where the victory really came from. Doesn't want to believe… We did nothing. The others at the divison made us what we were. Because, tell me, how can a team _without talent_ accomplish anything useful? I don't know. I don't know what Prince was even thinking. It's a mystery to Arceus himself."

With a huff, Tangrind turned and decided to ignore Kabir's rambling. It was typical of the Smeargle to act like an eccentric pessimist when times were unfortunate, viewing the world with a defeatist attitude and saying things he truly didn't believe, complete with the whining, nasally voice that was hard for anyone to stand. Tangrind had put up with Kabir since the days as Prince's best student at Aronwood; he one day found that Prince had hired the Smeargle as his assistant. Though serious when he needed to be, the Smeargle was a painfully arrogant and obsessive figure; he spoke down to every other Pokémon he met with little exception, and rarely liked to admit a complement or an apology. But, despite the harsh words, Tangrind knew that Kabir had somewhat of a good heart inside of him, and that he and Prince were companions not easily separated—not even after such a tragic loss.

Though, in such tough times, he never seemed to show it.

"What now?" Tangrind asked, gazing out the window at the thickening snowstorm.

"What now?" Kabir repeated mockingly. "_Now_, with any luck, Prince will come to his senses and take us all back home where we belong. Though, it wouldn't surprise me if Alakazam won't accept us back after he hears of this!"

"Please, I've had enough of the attitude," Tangrind said sternly. "You're not helping—"

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT WE'VE DONE?!" Kabir blasted, pounding his fists on the desk and sending papers flying. "I went today and tried to finish the Damage Control process. I told the survivors we were relocating them to the harbor. And you know what happened? A little Snover from the clan came up to me, and you know what he told me? He told me he had trusted us. _Trusted us._ With his _being._ And now, as a reward, guess what? He's never going to see his friends or family again. He asked me how we could have let him down. And you know what? I had nothing to say to him! Nearly cracked my heart in two! WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SAY TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, Tangrind? WHAT?!"

"Next time will be better," the Heracross muttered solemnly. "Next time…"

"THAT'S _NO EXCUSE_!!" the Smeargle cried at the top of his lungs, leaping from his seat and nearly toppling the desk in his fury. "This isn't something we can just _walk away_ from, Tangrind. Nearly two hundred are _dead_, and they're on _our shoulders!_ How do you expect to sleep at night knowing you _let them die??_ How do you _answer to that??_ You _can't! _Yes, certainly! _Next time will be better_, you say! Sure it will be! You say that now! Try, just _try_ to put this behind you so quickly. I _dare_ you!"

"Are you quite done?" Tangrind shot. "You've made your point a ways enough back."

Grumbling incessantly, Kabir slumped back into his chair and occupied himself with collecting the scattered papers back into order.

"They lie on our shoulders, yes," Tangrind muttered quietly, crossing the room for the berry stash in the corner. "A shame they do. But that's the path we chose in life. Not much we can do about it but win it over the next time."

After that, neither Pokémon spoke a word for nearly a half hour. Kabir strove to finish his paperwork, all the while seething with anger and constantly poking holes in the thin sheets from pressing too hard. The Heracross sat in the corner, absentmindedly popping Honeypears into his mouth, occasionally whispering quiet prayers to the dragons in peaceful reflection. The wind howled outside. The chamber hatch creaked from the storm's shifting pressure. Evening began to settle, the rushing snowflakes becoming like a giant impermeable dust-cloud as the world outside lost its color…

"So, that's it, then?" Tangrind finally spoke. "We're done?"

"Aye, we're done," Kabir responded, occupied with scribbling another line of cursive across the journal book. "The 'morrow morning, soon as Azel comes back, we leave… Was hoping she'd be back earlier, but with this weather, it's not going to happen."

Tangrind glanced at the little chamber-like cabin which they'd called home for the past couple of weeks. It was a cozy place, though a bit cramped; The whole structure was crammed halfway into the face of a rock wall, serving to keep it hidden from the prying eyes of explorers or enemies. The team was down to their last portion of supplies, the rest packed up in bags and ready to be hauled home. A weird twinge of false nostalgia fluttered in his heart as he looked about the now-barren shelves and floors of the commode. He thought oddly to himself that he liked the place a little, and would have harbored fond memories of it, had there actually been any fond memories to be had from the Frozen Spring mission…

Figuring it would be best to retire for the night, the Heracross paced toward the resting room... when a couple thoughts suddenly connected in his mind.

"You say you met a Snover?" Tangrind asked interestedly, glancing back at Kabir.

"Yes," Kabir answered, though a bit irritably, as if the memory was not something he wished to dwell on. "Young one. Even told me his name at one point. Don't remember it, though. Was a human name in origin."

"I think I know the one you mean," Tangrind said. "Met him on the first day we were at the Spring. Some kid. Got some guts."

"Oh?" Kabir responded curiously.

"Seemed distant from all his training-mates," Tangrind said oddly. "Practically chased away anyone who got within ten feet of him. Though… when I told him what we were doing in the city, he said... that we were his heroes."

Without another word, Tangrind crossed into the other room, leaving his teammate alone to complete his work.

---

_Magma the Arcanine was created by __**NightlyRains**.**  
**__Kabir the Smeargle was created by __**rabidcatking**._

---

Author's Notes:

Yeah, it's one of **these** stories, with perspective flipping. I found that Legend couldn't narrate the whole thing—if he did, it'd probably take three years to finish the story! He'll have his turn again, but not for a few more parts.

I'm going to try for faster, smaller updates in the near future. Maybe once a week, even? Or faster?

Also, do not worry: all the submitted characters so far included (as well as those mentioned but not yet used) are **not **done, and will get much more than just one scene. They're going to be proper characters.


	4. Verse 1, Part 3

"There's always something more."

They were words the Snover didn't think he would ever believe.

As the sun rose on the eighth day since running from home, the little Snover conversed with one of the only Pokémon he had left in his life—Lapras, his trainer. Together, they sat at the edge of the Valley of Grief and watched the sun come up.

"If there's one thing I've learned about this world, little one, I've learned that there's _always_ something more. Ambera… you could never see all of it with your own eyes, even if you lived as long as a Ninetales. And beyond that, the boundless sea which circles the globe, swarming with life below… and beyond that, the regions where the humans dwell, radiant with their kindness and intelligence… And the sky. And, perhaps someday, the stars above will be new places to explore. Albert… don't think you could fit everything into that little head of yours. It's just not possible. There is _always_ something hidden from the eye. All you have to do… is step beyond the horizon, and look."

"I don't care."

The Lapras sighed. This was a very difficult talk for the both of them, but not for the same reasons. As the result of the Snover leaving the rest of his training-mates behind at the spring, as well as his entire family, Lapras found himself the little Pokémon's sole guardian in their sudden westward journey. While he had helped children to evolve for decades, he feared he wasn't cut out to be a foster parent—especially to a little guy such as Albert, a stubborn kid who never seemed to able to make any friends of his own.

"I don't care," the Snover flatly said again. "I don't wanna see the world. I wanna go back home."

"The Harbor will be your home," the Lapras told him. "It's a good place, I can tell you that. I've been there myself. Twice the place that the spring ever was. And you get to see all kinds of Pokémon who swim in from the sea—"

"The Harbor's not going to be the Spring," the Snover said. "The Harbor's never gonna be a home to me. I don't care what the Master says. I want my home back."

"The Master insists that we not live there any longer," the Lapras spoke, though in a quieter tone. "And we must do what the Master says. He has the power to punish us if we disobey him. He gets to make the rules. And he decided… there were too many Pokémon living in the spring, so… some of them had to leave."

The Snover closed its eyes and tried to make the world go away, wishing it was all just somebody's idea of a big joke.

Ironic, it was, that just weeks prior to his forced exodus, he found himself beginning to despise his surroundings, his lifelong home, and the Pokémon who lived there and accompanied him every day of his life. His mother and father… while they cared for him in some ways, they never seemed interested in talking with him. His neighbors… They were never home, and when they were, seemed to dislike the presence of children. He felt unbearably alone in life, neglected by all those who knew him… Even his training-mates and Lapras, his teacher, seemed to disregard him as an unintelligent rock every time they glanced at him.

So, he began to ponder leaving the little village of the Frozen Spring to embark upon a life of solitude in the evergreen forests like a good Snover should… only to realize, after a while of contemplation, that it would only make his loneliness absolute. He didn't _want _to be lonely. But… it was just so difficult to find anyone in the world who could accept him as the small, weak, silly-looking, uninteresting, _ugly_ Pokémon he was.

It was how he imagined others saw him.

Training was something he took very seriously. If he had one chance to make anyone else respect him, it would be through evolution. After all, it was not common for a Snover to evolve. Even in the wild, there would only be one out of seemingly fifty who would ever grow strong enough. Surely, he convinced himself, if only he could transform into the rugged, muscle-bound form he was destined for, his troubles would be solved…

But his training always seemed to be the most painful part of his life.

"_My sister tells me you've been bothering her again."_

_Albert found himself standing at the edge of the creek bed field, the favorite training ground of the water Pokémon, approached by the imposing form of a bulky Wartortle. His name was Turq, the first among their classgroup to evolve and proud of it. Unfortunately, it seemed as though most of Turq's battle experience was the result of pounding poor little Albert into submission._

"Look at me_ when I talk to you, you little prick," the Wartortle growled down at him. "I told you not to lay a hand on my family. I thought I made that clear enough. What gives you the right to think that you can just ignore what I say?"_

_The little Snover grimaced. Despite feeling dwarfed by the turtle, he poised himself in a hostile stance and tried to make himself look tougher than he really was._

"_Answer my question, you little wad of seaweed," Turq boomed, approaching him further. "Unless you want me to beat the answer out of you myself."_

"_Your pathetic little sister was the one who attacked first," the Snover shot in reply, digging his feet into the damp dirt ground. "She threw a rock at me."_

"_Well, I think my sister has the right to throw rocks wherever she wants," Turq returned, an evil smile slightly emerging from his scowl."Especially since I told you not to touch her."_

"_She _asked_ me," Albert spoke louder. "She told me to battle her. She _begged_ me. So I did what she said. I gave her a little slap in the face. She ran off crying."_

_Albert glanced past his seething rival to see that a small crowd of onlookers had formed. Their eyes all sparkled with interest, anticipating the show that Turq was no doubt about to perform, yet they kept their distance from the scene. He didn't want to go down easily. He wanted his respect, and he was willing to fight for it._

"_I figured I was doing you a favor, Turq," Albert sang, swaggering towards the bully. "Your sister's a weakling. She needs all the experience she can get."_

_That was the last straw. Not even needing to say anything, The Wartortle launched himself headfirst at the Snover. In those precious few moments before the impact, Albert dug into his heart and tried to counter the assault with one of his sharpened leaves, an attack he felt he was he was beginning to master…_

_But he wasn't fast enough. In the blink of an eye, the enraged tortoise Pokémon had him in his grasp. For a moment, he felt the claws digging into his shoulders, holding him still…_

…_And then, the turtle brutally bashed his skull into the Snover's forehead. Albert saw stars flash before his eyes followed by a splitting pain in the head. Turq released his grasp, letting him keel over backwards._

"_One of these days, you have to learn," Turq spoke gravely, standing over the defeated little Snover. "I'll keep teaching you this lesson until you remember it for good. As many times as it takes."_

Indeed, training was not easy.

And Turq was not even his greatest problem. There were a few of his training-mates he would never dare to even approach—like Beam, the ruthless Sneasel, or Caron, the hot-headed Combusken. But not Turq. No, he wasn't going to afford Turq that respect.

And that's what it was all about, in the end. Respect. It was something you had to earn. You earned it by making others fear you, by gaining power and showing that you have authority over them—just as Turq did to him nearly every time they met. But no, one day, he knew it would be his turn. He would evolve, and then maybe he could start to do things _his _way for once…

That was the oddest thing, he felt: through his periodically boring and unpleasant life, through his loneliness, through his lack of friends, through his weaknesses and his disagreeable training-mates… he liked the Frozen Spring. He enjoyed living there. He enjoyed looking back at how he had steadily gotten stronger over the years, so that he could withstand more punishment from those stronger than him… He enjoyed the thought of finding his purpose in life through his training.

It took losing his home to realize just how dearly it all was to him.

"It's that Infernape's fault," Albert grumbled bitterly, crossing his arms. "Prince. He even called himself Prince. Like he was all high and mighty. I trusted him, Lapras. His Pokémon told us he could hide us from the Master."

"We all trusted him," Lapras said frankly. "Even I. But… though you don't understand it, they have given you and I more than we could ask for… they have given us this chance… to move on…"

"The giant Bug Pokémon that helped Prince told me he wouldn't let the Master take over the Spring," Albert continued, ignoring him. "Now, what? They didn't do what they said they'd do. And now the Master rules there. And he kicked us out! I don't… I don't want to leave. Can't he kick some of the other Pokémon out instead? Like… Caron! Or Yeswei. Why couldn't they leave instead?"

"Stop," the Lapras suddenly shouted, overtaking the Snover's whining voice.

Finally, the Snover did as he was told and gave his teacher full attention. Lapras signed deeply, trying to compose himself. He turned to the little child, his eye gleaming in the light of the sunrise, almost betraying the tears he held back.

"I know this isn't _fun_," Lapras told him sternly. "But… you have to understand, if you want to keep going, you have to learn to stop thinking about the past for just a little while. It's the only way any of us are going to make it. Try, just for a few moments, to ignore the past. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Lapras," Albert said with a reluctant nod. "I'll try. It's just… It's…"

Albert turned back to the sunrise, which was soon becoming too bright to stare directly into. With his eyes, he traced the shadows cast by the valley's walls, and all the colorful glows which surrounded them.

"…I almost want to go back and tell them goodbye before we leave. Do you think… they'll be mad at me?"

Lapras didn't answer. He stared into the sun, as if ignoring the Snover's words.

"Do you think they'll even miss me? Will they remember me when I come back?"

Again, no answer. Lapras's eyes gleamed ever the brighter, but Albert didn't quite notice.

"Lapras… I will be able to go back someday, right?" Albert implored. "Maybe… in a few years?"

"Yes, little one," Lapras answered in gentle voice. "If you truly want to go back... if that's what you decide to do… then yes, you can go back someday."

"Promise?"

Lapras knew that the last promise anyone had told little Albert had been betrayed… and though the Snover hardly knew what he was asking, Lapras decided right then that he would do whatever it took to let his request be fulfilled… and to help him become strong enough to handle it.

"I promise," Lapras answered with a heartfelt nod.

---

Not too long after dawn broke, the caravan picked up and proceeded westward toward the next night's rest stop. The previous day, the Smeargle from the Infernape's team had given their caravan leader the rest of the directions to their new home, Cornice Harbor, located on the very northwestern peninsula of Ambera. To get there, all that was needed was to follow the Cornice River, lodging at the rest stops along the way to evade the Watchers.

For Albert, it was a very boring journey.

To the Snover, it seemed the passing ripples of the river below were the only form of entertainment in sight as his teacher carried him upstream on his back. For some reason unknown to Albert, they traveled a ways behind the rest of the caravan, so much so that he could only occasionally glimpse at the group far ahead. He hadn't met them for the entirety of the trip, and wasn't even sure which of his neighbors comprised the group. Whenever he begged Lapras to speed up, his teacher calmly replied that swimming upstream was not an easy task and that he needed to conserve his energy if he wanted to swim all day. And even then, he insisted that swimming was a better alternative than waddling awkwardly across the land or using his telekinetic powers to lift himself into the air, which drained his energy quite fast. It was the same answer every time, so Albert eventually quit asking.

As they swam, Lapras noticed Albert's downcast gaze at the water. The stream held the little guy's interest, somehow, moreso than the gorgeous landscapes which reeled by.

"Looking for something?" Lapras couldn't help but ask him.

"No," Albert replied. "Not really."

"Well, in that case, what's so interesting about the water?" Lapras asked oddly. "You barely look anywhere else. I'm surprised you haven't gotten seasick yet."

"Nothing…" Albert answered absently, squinting as if to spot the pebbles and the occasional tadpole at the bottom of the crystal-clear stream. "I just… remember something."

"_You just don't get it, do you?!" Turq screamed in his ear, holding him in midair by one of his sprouted arms. "All I want is a little respect. Is that so hard? Is it?"_

_This time, nearly the whole classgroup had assembled to watch. They all stood at the highest cliff above Oracle Lake. It was a favorite point for water Pokémon to play double-dare with one another, challenging each other to leap off and plummet hundreds of feet into the partially frozen pond below. _

_For other types of Pokémon, such as Albert, it was a place of torture._

_Dangling from Turq's grasp, he found himself surrounded by many onlookers eager for a spectacle. There was the Umbreon and the Glaceon who often battled with Turq. There was the group of Sealeo who were often seen playing in the lake. And there was even Caron the Combusken, unable to avert her attention from the scene at hand. They were all dead silent. Nobody wanted to ruin Turq's moment. Nobody felt the need to interrupt him._

"_You miserable little wad of seaweed," Turq growled. "You know where seaweed belongs? Under the water."_

"_If you want me to fear you, it's not going to happen," Albert replied. "I don't care what you do to me. I'm not afraid of you."_

"_Ah, hah, you see, _that's_ the whole problem I have with you," Turq laughed. "Why not? All you have to do is humor me a little. Change your attitude. That's all I'm asking! Is that so hard?"_

"_In that case, why not make a deal?" Albert offered. "You respect me, I respect you. Then we'll both be happy."_

"_You see? You see? This is the attitude from you I can't stand!!" Turq blasted, slamming the Snover back to the ground. "First off, no, I don't respect weaklings. Second of all, no, we wouldn't be happy. Because _I'm_ not happy unless _you're_ not happy. Sorry, but that's just the way Arceus made me! I can't help it. I see a weakling like you, how can I help it? That's the way we Pokémon are made, you know! The strong dominate the weak!"_

"_Then maybe Arceus made a mistake when he made you," Albert shot back._

_He wasn't able to climb back to his feet, because just then, he heard a cumulative gasp from the crowd. It was the only warning he got that he had been kicked from the cliff-top and was suddenly plummeting down toward the water below._

"_Good lord, he doesn't know when to quit!" said a voice atop the cliff, quickly fading away as the _whoosh _of the wind overpowered his ears on the way down…_

_Next thing he knew, he was submerged in chilly water._

_It wasn't the cold that bothered him. In fact, his reeling consciousness rather liked the feeling. The real problem was something far graver:_

_He couldn't swim._

_Though he flailed wildly, he sank like a stone. His little body was too heavy, and no part of it was built for treading water…_

_He wondered how long it would take for him to suffocate. He wondered if he would die. If his fearlessness had foolishly cost him his life._

"_Yeaaah-ow!" a voice yelled. "Hey! Move! Get him!"_

_Having already closed his eyes, Albert couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. He wondered if somebody had jumped in after him to help him out of the water. Maybe even Turq and his friends. After all, they were only rivals. They didn't want to kill one another… right?_

_Sure enough, he felt some sort of force pushing him, or maybe pulling him, helping to keep him from sinking. He went limp, letting the forces do what they please to him until he was safe once more on dry land._

_Within minutes, the sound in his ears burst like a bubble, and a pleasantly hypothermic breeze brushed across his face. He had escaped the pond. Blinking his eyes, he found himself laying face-down upon the muddy shore, his feet still underneath the surface. He glanced around, but no other Pokémon entered his line of sight. He wondered who had assisted him in getting out of the lake._

"_Hey there," a voice called. "Gotta be careful up on that cliff next time!"_

_Albert winced. The voice was low and unnatural somehow. It was unlike any voice he'd ever heard before, and it still didn't have a source. He eyed his surroundings again…_

_That's when he saw them. Hovering at the surface of the water, their slimy white eyes and their gaping mouths pointed towards him, was a pair of Magikarp._

"_YAAAAH! WARGH!" Albert yelped, leaping to his feet in utter surprise. "Y-y- You just… did you just talk to me?! A… a… You're a talking fish!! A talking fish!! W— How?!! How is that possible?!" _

"_Oh, pardon us for helping you out, thought we could be of some assistance," the first Magikarp said. "It's not like we just saved your life or anything."_

"_Wait, no, I'm sorry," Albert blurted. "I didn't mean… I mean… Thank you. But… I thought fish… I thought fish couldn't talk. I've never seen a talking fish before!"_

"_And I've never seen a frozen plant Pokémon before," the first Magikarp said. "But you don't see me all awestruck. You're welcome, by the way. We get a lot of landlubbers falling down in here. We figure it's a courtesy to give them a… a _hand_, so to say."_

_Albert squinted at the two large orange creatures which bobbed up and down in the water before him, periodically ducking underneath the surface again to breathe. He couldn't believe his eyes._

"_I'm serious…" Albert said, trying to compose himself and speak a little quieter. "Thank you for helping me. I can't swim. But… I never had any idea that intelligent Pokémon live under the water."_

"_Well, why wouldn't we?" The second Magikarp said. "The water's our home. Where else would we live?"_

"_You're confined to such small place," Albert said, noting the size of the lake. It was a large lake, though he couldn't imagine a self-aware Pokémon spending their entire life in just one area. "Don't you… feel cramped? And who taught you to talk, anyway?"_

"_Cramped? You've got to be joking!" the first Magikarp laughed. "If you think this place is small, your eyes fail you. Our whole extended family lives down here! And your amphibious Pokémon give us news of the surface whenever we ask."_

"_Sorry if we're rude," the second Magikarp said. "We can understand your surprise. I remember when I first learned there was more life above the surface. Quite the shocker to me. Had no idea there was a whole other world I couldn't see. Thought the lake was the only world there was."_

"_Me, too," the other added. "But yeah, we have your Vaporeon and your Prinplup and your Golduck to tell us all about the surface world. If it wasn't for them, we'd just be a bunch of dumb fish floating around. You know, like the kind that try to jump up into the sky and get eaten by birds."_

_Now this was interesting. Intelligent fish Pokémon living Oracle Lake… and possibly around the rest of the world, too? And it was all because some land Pokémon decided to form their connection to the outside world? This was something Albert had never imagined possible. It was an intriguing concept, and Albert soon found his mind swimming in a flood of new questions. What was life like down in the water? Did fish have rooms they lived in? Did they have hobbies? Did they study nature? Did they partake in intelligent, philosophical conversations? And just how much of the outside world did they know?_

_Unfortunately, his mind chose that moment to freeze up, and the question he chose to ask was probably the worst one possible._

"_I know a lot of Pokémon who eat fish," Albert blurted. "You know we eat you a lot, right?"_

_The two fish looked oddly at one another, then proceeded to burst out laughing, roiling and splashing upon the surface of the water as they did. The sound of their gurgled laughter was so strange, Albert couldn't help chuckle himself._

"_Honestly, we don't blame you," one of the Magikarp responded. "The feral fish are the most pathetic creatures. Their memories expire after, like, ten seconds. You could slap them in the face with your tail, and they would swim away in terror, and be back in less than a minute, looking you over again."_

"_Ha, yeah, and if you gang up on them, they just swim in circles!" the other added. "Messing with their minds is great fun. But yeah, go ahead, do whatever you can to control their population. Don't worry, us 'talking fish' know how to stay out of danger well enough. Anyone who doesn't deserves to be gobbled up."_

_Since that day, Albert couldn't help but grin whenever he glimpsed at a body of water, imagining a whole city of fish dwelling underneath, swimming in patterns, speaking about the water currents, or doing whatever they did with their lives. He entertained the idea of conversing with the water-dwellers again sometime, but didn't intend to put his life at risk just for the sake of socializing. Thus, he always kept an eye below the surface, wondering if there would ever be another intelligent one to meet…_

"It reminds you of home, doesn't it?" Lapras said, breaking Albert out of his daze. "That's why you dwell on the water. Because it's the same river that connects back to the Spring. Am I right?"

_There's always something more,_ Lapras had said. Looking beneath the ripples of the stream, Albert knew that maybe he could be right. Maybe there was more to this world than he thought. Maybe he did have it in him to leave his home behind for a while, and to look for something new.

"Yeah," Albert answered, not lifting his gaze. "Kinda."

---

_Albert the Snover was created by __**Master of Llamas.  
**__Caron the Combusken was created by __**Steben**_.


	5. Verse 1, Part 4

A tiny vessel, its course guided by unseen Pokémon swimming under the hull, floated gently across the surface of the tremendous Phion Ocean.

Though manned entirely by Pokémon, the wooden ship was a human contraption- borrowed, donated, or possibly pirated from the continents they occupied at least a hundred horizons away. It was a sailboat, though it traveled with no hoisted sail, or even a crew to actively row it; instead, a Gyrados and its team of fish Pokémon towed it along the way from underneath, gradually hefting it towards its faraway destination. Upon the surface of the boat, a crew mainly of Machoke walked this way and that, performing maintenance and serving the passengers…

Standing at the front dock of the little boat, nearly leaning over the edge in contained excitement, was an adolescent Chikorita.

A smile spread across her face as her eyes remained locked upon the upcoming eastern horizon. As a sigh escaped her lips, so did an uplifting little song she muttered just under her voice…

"_All my life, I've dreamed of a world brimming with mystery and an adventure…  
All my life, I've heard a voice singing a canticle of the unknown…_

_Somewhere, there's a kingdom…  
With lights filling the sky, dreams never to die,  
Legends 'cross the land, roaming free! Living fantasy!_

_All my life, I've dreamed of a world brimming with mystery and an adventure…  
All my life, I've heard a voice over the sea… calling out to me!"_

This was it, the final day of the voyage. She closed her eyes, letting the salty sea breeze whip across her face and wave her leaf around. Though the smell of the sea had long since gotten on her nerves, stinging her sinuses whenever she'd inhale, it smelled so much more beautiful today as she imagined the drafts blowing in from her destination…

The Ambera region. She'd heard enough about it to picture it in her mind: a gorgeous, sprawling paradise, untouched by humans, crawling with every sort of Pokémon imaginable… and rife with treasures, secrets, unexplored little caves and valleys, things she could spend her whole life scouring and never get bored… her heart fluttered at the thought of it all being so close to her now, close enough just to taste…

"That's a nice little song."

The Chikorita blinked. This was the first time somebody had addressed her for the entire duration of the trip. Aside from the Machoke making their rounds, the whole ride was rather depressingly lonely; the other passengers, all ten or so of them, seemed bored and content enough to keep to themselves, so much so that she'd given up on meeting somebody new until landfall. She leaped down from the rail, curious as to who had been eavesdropping on her. To her surprise, though not necessarily her amusement, it was a Bayleef—someone she somehow hadn't noticed on the boat before.

"Oh! I didn't mean to startle you," the female Bayleef added, shirking back a step. "I just liked your song. Where did you hear it?"

"I made it up," the Chikorita replied tersely, a little embarrassed about having been overheard and not feeling like explaining herself.

"Well, it's very heartfelt," the Bayleef complemented her. "Do you like to make songs? … Or… if you don't feel like talking, that's fine…"

"Oh, no, it's okay, really," the Chikorita said quickly. "I was just… didn't expect to see a Bayleef here! I came from a big family and all… thought, you know, I'd see some _different_ Pokémon on this trip, rather than the same old…"

The Bayleef bit her lip for a moment, not sure how to take the comment. She didn't want to intrude upon the girl, but at the same time, didn't want to pass the opportunity to befriend her…

"Oh! I mean… no, it's nice to see a Pokémon I recognize, to tell you the truth" the Chikorita inserted quickly, realizing her mistake. "Makes me feel a little more comfortable, actually. I'm Lily. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Marita, or that's what the humans call me, anyway," the Bayleef said, now wearing a beaming smile. "You can call me Mary if it's easier on your tongue. So, what brings you to Ambera? I take it you're an explorer?"

"Well… not yet," Lily confessed. "This is a really big step for me, to be honest. I grew up in the human country. I know there are lots of Pokémon who like living with humans, but I've always wanted to explore the world, go somewhere new that nobody's ever been before, and see what I can find. It just… kinda called to me all my life, you know? One day my aunt told me about this far-away place called Ambera, and now here I am, four years later, on a one-way trip to a place I've never been before, no friends, no supplies, no plans… just me…"

"Well, if that's what you want, I think you picked the right place to come," Mary assured her. "Me, I've lived in Ambera all my life. My father belongs to a human, so I have to go visit him every now and then… but I do love my true home. Here, you can do whatever you want without worrying about upsetting the humans! No Poké Balls, no trainers, no battle tournaments… Zilch. No humans. Just Pokémon."

"Yeah, that's what they told me," Lily said. "But… How do you keep the humans out, though? You don't chase them away, do you? Wouldn't that be kinda… impolite?"

"Oh, trust me, we don't have to," Mary laughed, lowering her voice to a cheesy dramatic tone. "They stay far away from here all on their own. Legend has it that a long time ago, one human came to Ambera and started causing trouble. Before the human got very far, they say that the legendary dragons came down and put a stop to it… Violently! Ever since then, word spread, and… well, humans don't come to Ambera just like they wouldn't tug on Arceus' tail. Even the corrupted humans wouldn't dream of fleeing here."

"Ouch," Lily commented, wincing as she imagined the described scene. "I guess that's it, then. The gods want this to be a haven for Pokémon only… Fine by me. I mean, I don't have anything against the humans, really. They're good creatures, from what I met of them… Like I said, I just felt something calling me, couldn't refuse it…"

"Ahh… humans," Mary sighed, her eyes glazing over as she contemplated her memories. "They're nothing like any of the Pokémon. They're like miniature gods. Even the younger ones. They can turn the world into whatever they want. When they set their sights on something, watch out, because nothing's going to stop them… they'll even find a way to carry on with their will after their death."

"Yeah," Lily said, nodding absently.

"But that's not what makes them so wonderful," Mary continued. "They aren't like the deities of myth. Through all of their strengths, they're too weak to stand alone. They still need each other. They still need Pokémon. And that's why they really understand what love is."

Lily nodded again in agreement of most of the thoughts, but not too sure what she could add to them.

"But, yeah. Humans are just fine," Mary spoke, jumping out of her trance. "Given the chance, I'd go with one. But there just aren't enough humans to take all the Pokémon in the world, you know? The rest of us have to go somewhere else, like Ambera. We just have to find some other role to play. And that legend I told you about? Nobody knows if it's true, we all just say that whenever someone asks, just for fun! The humans could have an arrangement never to come here, or it could be that the whole place is invisible to them. Nobody really knows."

Lily lurched, realizing that she had been absentmindedly staring straight down at the deck for a good while, and remembering why she had been watching the horizon in the first place: seasickness was not easy to ward away. She'd already been through two unpleasant instances of failing to keep her food down, and she didn't want to end her voyage with a third. She shook her head and climbed back onto the railing…

And then she saw it. A long, fuzzy silhouette finally separated the sea from the sky. There was no mistaking it: after a mind-numbing five-week ride across the ocean, they had arrived!

For Lily, it was love at first sight. She could just tell, gaping out over the railing at the gargantuan landmass, watching as the ocean's waves turned white and honed in on the faraway shore, that it was everything she wanted. A wave of sudden thoughts hit her: would she survive without any supplies of her own? Would she make do? Would she find a place to stay? Somehow, none of that mattered. Her eyes glimmered in the midafternoon light, fixated upon the hazy vision in the distance, imagining herself leaping for joy onto the sandy beaches of her new home…

"About time," Mary muttered, reminding Lily that she was still there. "These boat rides are never too fun. Someday, maybe we could harness that human technology and travel around the world through the computers… oh, well. At least there's some daylight left…"

---

"WOW!!" Lily cried, gawking at her new surroundings. "This is incredible!"

The sandy beach she had been expecting was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the boat had weighed anchor at a harbor town just inside the lip of a sizable lagoon. That was the first thing which jumped out at her: the harbor.

"You mean Pokémon made this?!" Lily gasped, her eyes darting from the ports, to the wooden docks underfoot, to all the cemented stone buildings. "This is almost… just like a human place! How… just, how?!"

"We've taken a lot of lessons from humans," Mary explained. "Ambera's our home, so we made it the best it can be in whatever ways we could! A lot of the places you'll find here were built in the image of human design, though there are a lot of things here that humans would laugh at if they ever saw."

Already overwhelmed, Lily watched with widened eyes as a whole community of Pokémon seemed to traverse the same dock, some hurrying on their way toward the boats, others shouting their various cries and socializing, others hauling mounds of berries and boxes toward the mainland…

That was the second thing that jumped out at her: the sheer diversity of all the Pokémon. They were all species she had never seen before in her life, never knew even existed. There were small rodents with surprisingly heavy-looking helmets attached to their faces, turtles with trees growing on their backs, white cats with odd red markings across their forms, sea serpents with such striking beauty that it made her breath catch… for an entire minute, her legs froze and refused to so much as twitch, as Pokémon after unidentifiable Pokémon passed before her…

"You alright?" Mary said oddly, noticing her hesitance.

Lily was almost unable to answer until the form of a Vaporeon leapt up the side of the dock- seeing it elicited a tremble of relief as she dwelled for a moment upon the only Pokémon in the crowd she recognized.

"Lots of Pokémon here," she commented, blinking her eyes and trying to take control of herself. "I'll have to learn all their names…"

"Oh, yes, Ambera is home to Pokémon from _all_ over the world!" Mary hummed with pride. "We're like a mixture of all the other regions! You'll never know what kind of Pokémon you'll see here! And we have landscapes to accommodate them all, too! You want to live in a scorching desert? We've got 'em! Or how about a freezing cold mountain cave? Or a volcano crater? We've got those, too! There isn't a habitat we lack! There's room for everybody!"

"Well, for starters, how about a cozy little grassy plain I could settle down in?" Lily tried. "You have one of those, right?"

"Hah! Just you wait and see," Mary cheered. "Not far from here, there's a place called Regigas Mounds. It's like looking over the sea, except it's all green instead of blue! And forty miles to the east, Carver's Domain is the biggest jungle _in the world! _Ah, hah, you're going to love this place! This is _Ambera_ we're talking about now, honey, never to be outdone! Just ask, anything your heart desires is yours! Oh, it's so good to be home…"

Taking just a moment to compose herself, Lily just had to smile. Admittedly, she was impressed. _Very_ impressed. In just minutes of standing upon the much-anticipated foreign land, she was met with the very thing she had come looking for: something _new_. Something _awesome._ Something filled with endless potential and mystery.

Certainly, she told herself, things were only looking up from here.

"Hey, Lily, if you need a place to stay, you're welcome to tag along with me for the time being," Mary said with a friendly wink. "I'll show you to my home in the Mounds. From there… well, it'd be up to you, really!"

Lily accepted the Bayleef's generous offer without hesitation, and hung close to her amidst the sea of strange monsters and creatures she couldn't begin to fathom naming. A walking, breathing sea barnacle. A miniature Snorlax. A purple ghastly-appearing figure with what looked like gemstones for eyes. Deep inside, she was filled with horror at seeing so many strange things, but it was that joyous kind of horror that all explorers seek… and she loved every minute of it.

As Lily excitedly galloped along behind her, Mary traversed the active harbor town and explained that her home was over twelve miles away, but they could make it before nightfall if they kept a good pace. Lily barely listened, her mind instead absorbed in the countless possibilities that lay before her. Those deserts, mountains, and volcanoes that Mary had mentioned? She determined she would see them, someday, as well as all the other features the continent had to offer. Was there a habitat for Ghost Pokémon? Or the rare Dragon-kin? What about-

"I'm sorry, but Route Nine Twenty-Two is closed."

Lily blinked. She found herself standing at the edge of town, a Dugtrio protruding from the ground directly before Mary and blocking her progress forward.

"You're joking," Mary said in protest. "Horrible timing!! We need to get home!"

"Well, might as well find lodging now," the front member of the Dugtrio suggested. "Route Nine Twenty-Two is closed, just as it says on the central bulletin board in town. To avoid future inconvenience, please check the board every day before traveling."

"For how long?" Mary insisted.

"Long enough," the Dugtrio answered. "Maybe another week."

"A _week!!" _Mary screamed. "That's horrible!!"

"Wait… why's the road closed?" Lily wondered. "Maintenance?"

"Maintenance…what?" the Dugtrio repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, Maintenance…" Lily said. "I'm from the human countries. And sometimes they close down the roads for… maintenance… you know, to fix potholes and stuff… Is that what they're doing? If so, we could just…"

"Oh, heh, heh, pardon the little child, she's new to this place," Mary forced a laugh, cutting Lily off. "Yet to learn the laws of the land, as it were! Heh! Well, I guess we'll just have to take a detour! Bye, now!"

"Sorry for the inconvenience, and have a good day," the Dugtrio recited as Mary dragged away the little Leaf Pokémon with her vines.

When they were a ways off, Lily adamantly tugged at the vines until they released her.

"Okay, I'm confused. What just happened?" Lily demanded. "What was… all that about? I just asked a question!"

"Lily," the Bayleef said sternly, "There are some things about Ambera you've still got to learn. For one… if a social worker tells you a place is closed, never ask any questions, especially 'why'. It's impolite. Do you understand?"

"Um… I… yeah, okay," Lily stammered. "W… I mean…"

"I'll say this," Mary explained. "In the human countries, they close roads for maintenance. Here, they close roads for some other reasons, too. And we usually don't like to talk about them."

"Oooo-kay," Lily answered. "I guess I'll remember that…"

"Oh, but it's not a problem, I don't think!" Mary said optimistically, switching back to her cheery tone. "Let's take Route Nine Thirteen. Bit of a roundabout, but it's the next best way!"

---

For the rest of the evening, Lily and Mary hiked down the concrete trail labeled as "Route 913", allowing Lily to get her first clear view of Ambera's wilderness. As she glanced at the dispersed forest which the road cut through, she liked what she saw; it looked similar to the rough countryside back at her old home, but more "wild", somehow… more unkempt, more overgrown. More uninhibited. This little detail pleased her, always reminding her that soon, her own heart would be wild, uninhibited, free to roam the land…

But whenever she tried to climb the tall tree with the colorful fruit, or inspect the strange rock formation, or even so much as show interest in something off the path, Mary quickly hurried her along for some reason. She was in a definite hurry, one that Lily could never seem to talk her out of.

_Probably eager to get home,_ Lily reasoned. _Home does have that effect on you sometimes…_

Eventually, after growing a bit weary and annoyed, Lily happily obliged when her guide offered to let her ride on her back the rest of the way. Though it was a little awkward, as Mary wasn't even twice Lily's size, Lily managed to hold on as the Bayleef galloped down the road at her desired pace. Along the way, Lily could only cast passing glances at the surrounding scenery as it reeled by, trying at least to take in the way that the tropical sunset turned the forest a slew of exotic colors…

Finally, just when the last of the sun had almost hidden itself, the forest parted to reveal a vast, rolling stretch of grassland.

"Here we are! Regigas Mound!" Mary announced. "Told you it was a nice place!"

Lily would have agreed, except for the fact that she could barely see any of it in the sparse rays of sunlight which remained. The sight became fuzzy and grey to her, with only the striped shadows to give it empty shades of color. She sighed, telling herself that it would be the first thing she would get to see in the morning, her first real exploration of Ambera's landscape…

"Home!" Mary cried, letting the little Chikorita to the ground. "Phew! Thought we wouldn't make it in time for evening! "

"Yeah, we certainly covered ground, heh," Lily gasped, gazing around at the dark wilderness, listening to a symphony of strange Pokémon beginning a nighttime song. "But I can't wait to-"

"Enough blather! In! In!!" Mary suddenly yelled. "Quickly!"

Lily blinked, turning to her guide in confusion. The Bayleef stood at the dark entrance to some hole, indicating it to her with some urgency.

"What's that?' Lily wondered. "A den?"

"My den! The place I sleep at night!" Mary explained. "Now, come on! You're welcome inside for the night!"

"Um… no, thanks," Lily said. "I'd rather sleep under the stars…"

"You can't do that! The Bayleef said with more urgency in her voice, which honestly started to scare the little Chikorita a bit. "I insist! In!"

"You know… actually… this is my first night in Ambera," Lily said, grinning to herself and making up her mind. "You know what I think I'll do? I'm going to wander off into the night, get lost, and fall asleep wherever I find myself… Thanks for all your help, Mary, thanks for bringing me here, and…"

"You _can't_," Mary pleaded adamantly. "Literally. You can't. The ghosts will hurt you!"

"Don't worry!" Lily responded awkwardly. "I know how to defend myself! And the ghosts that come out at night are always weaklings…"

"Not here! Not here!" Mary cried.

Now, Lily was seriously getting freaked out. She gaped at the Bayleef, noting the horrible look of concern and desperation in her eyes… Were the creatures of the night really that bad? She'd slept under the stars countless times back at home, and enjoyed it greatly; and with her mastery of attacks, she never had any trouble scaring away the night-prowling predators that got in her way… were the creatures of Ambera really so different?

"Look… okay, something else you have to learn," the Bayleef rambled, "at night… a bunch of ghosts come out. Hundreds! And they're stronger than most Pokémon we know. And they… they'll _kill_ you! They search for intelligent Pokémon just like me and you…"

"How do you know?" Lily asked. "How do you know they're coming out tonight?"

"Because they come out _every night!_" Mary explained. "We just… we hide at night. That's what we do here in Ambera. We let the ghosts have the world while we sleep. It's… it's nature's way of setting a schedule for us."

"Wait," Lily responded, stamping her foot in the grass. "Are you trying to tell me… I can _never_ go out at night?"

"No," Mary said simply, shaking her head. "Except… on some nights, when Cressalia is on the move, the moon shines like a giant golden ball… and none of the ghosts come out. But… it's _so beautiful_, Lily. You'd have to see it to understand. And you know what? For me, it really makes up for all the nights I have to hide inside…"

_I'd bet,_ Lily thought to herself, reluctantly letting herself get ushered into Mary's den, eyeing the partially-cloudy sky one more time, wondering why the sky seemed to become so much more beautiful the farther away from human civilization she got. _A golden moon… That really sounds like something… I look forward to seeing it someday… Yeah…_

---

Late that night, Lily sat at the entrance to the Bayleef's den, still staring at the sky. There was no way she could sleep for the next several hours: she'd slept enough days away on the ship ride. Her mind reeled from the disturbed equilibrium, and her dashed hopes of frolicking under the stars pounded at her chest.

She watched as the described ghosts filled the sky, one by one, most rising up from the ground, others seeming to pop into existence hundreds of miles above. Many were ghost Pokémon she recognized, some were not—they all glowed with a foreign aura, bobbing and drifting through the sky like flakes on a pond's surface… Fixating upon them, she resisted the urge to cower back farther into the den. Just looking at them, she could tell they were all as dangerous as Mary told her…

Every time one of the ghosts glanced at her, a little part of her wanted to let out a long, sighing wail…

_Nights are off-limits,_ she told herself, trying her best to accept the fact. _That's fine… I guess… Well, yeah, I knew that moving here wasn't going to be all easy… some parts will be hard… That's what makes the rest of it so rewarding… _

As she sat there, reflecting upon her new homeland, watching the grey swarm of ghost Pokémon float by… for the first time in the whole month since setting sail, Lily felt the tiniest, most miniscule little twinge of homesickness.

She crushed it.

---

_Lily the Chikorita was created by **fallingautumnleaves**_.


	6. Verse 1, Part 5

"_What?!" Vallon shouted. "Since when… are we leaving?"_

"_You heard what I said," Prince answered roughly. "Yes. We're leaving. By the end of the week, I expect to be rid of this place."_

_Vallon and Legend stood there in the main corridor of their team's quarters, confronting their leader. They gaped in disbelief, unable to conjure any sort of response._

_Just moments ago, it had been a standard day for Team Flamewheel. Legend and Vallon had just returned from a two-day post in Iron Town just the previous evening, and had set their sights on preparing for their next task: they were to be exploring a newborn dungeon, formed in the core of a humid jungle many miles off. They had spent the day gathering notes on this area, and recruiting the help of several grass-typed Pokémon to their effort. They'd just enjoyed a pleasant meal with their colleagues, at which Arrow the Grovyle from Team Absolution had signed on to their task, and were heading back to their planning room and looking forward to organizing their supplies for the mission…_

…_And then, Legend happened to overhear a conversation Prince was having with Canniah…_

_And now they stood incredulously before the Infernape who lead their team, surrounded by all the comforting, luxurious things they took for granted—the vivid red carpets depicting the glory of fire Pokémon, the dozens and dozens of ghastly torches lining the walls, the gold-polished furniture… wondering why they had to give it all up. Wondering if their journey to Folly Jungle would indeed be their last among what had become their beloved home…_

"_I don't understand," Vallon finally said with a cutting edge to his voice. "You—you're disbanding us from the division? You… want us to become _independent?_" _

"_Yes," Prince responded, nodding confidently. "That would be the case… If Lucario rejects us. We will first apply for a post at the Emerald Division, and hope they will give us quarter there."_

_Again, a tense, burning silence between the Infernape and his two team members lingered through the hall. The Rhydon's rage grew as his mind circled with questions and implications, and the eyes of the Ninetales glazed over as he wondered whether or not he'd been displaced into a different team, as this was not the Prince he knew. It was the unity, the brotherhood of Team Flamewheel that they were always on the same page as one another, always acting as one entity, never changing the plan without a thorough and intelligent consultation… And to have Prince make this declaration, this decision, without so much as the consent or even the knowledge of the rest of the team… It made him begin to feel weak, a little part of his status quo shattered to pieces…_

"_My Prince… is it… is it something we've done? Something the Division… has done? I don't understand… where has this decision come from? Speak to us; what is the reason?"_

_Prince glanced for a moment into the eyes of the Ninetales, then turned his gaze back onto the floor. His flames wavered strangely. _

"_What if I were to tell you there is no reason?" Prince questioned oddly, but still confidently. "What then, Legend? Would you desert me and leave the team to remain here?"_

"_Of course not, my Prince," Legend managed to gasp out. "I will remain…"_

"_And you, Vallon?" Prince questioned him, looking into his eyes._

"_You need me," Vallon answered strongly. "Without me, this team doesn't have a chance. You'd never pull off another Barricade."_

"_Yes… that much has been established…" Prince trailed off before a slight pause. "This team needs all seven of us if we are ever to pull off another Barricade. The truth is that… there is a reason… but I haven't decided what it is yet. As of now, there is only the decision."_

_Vallon stamped his foot in rage, rattling the nearby torches and almost knocking them over. "I have a better question," he boomed. "Why were we not involved in this 'decision'? I have responsibilities to this place, as a matter of fact. There are promises I have made! Scythe has been speaking of returning to the Basin Canyon, right? Well, he invited me to help next month. And Syr invited me to help with a training mission nine days from now. And not to mention Legend here… he has…"_

"_Yes," Legend interrupted, cutting him off. "I don't think Team Stripes will be pleased to hear that the Tale of the Needles will never be finished. Not to mention the rest of the Division. My Prince… surely you can tell, we are not an insignificant presence here. We have done much. We will be missed here! Alakazam will be dismayed to hear of this."_

"_There, you have answered your own question," Prince grumbled. "See, because, if I would have placed the issue on the table, the six of you would have rebuked it in whatever ways you could think of. You would have done everything in your power, used every word in your vocabulary necessary to make sure it would not come to pass. I'm sorry, but… it is something I cannot allow. This is something which _needs_ to be done. I need you to trust me."_

_Legend was dumbfounded. He took a step backward, letting his head nod quietly. Vallon growled wordlessly._

"_I'm sure it can't be too hard to cancel a few invitations," Prince barked, anger seeping into his voice. "We've done more difficult things, have we not?"_

"_Yes, my Prince," Legend said quietly, bowing his head. "We have."_

"_Hmm. At any rate, enjoy your mission," Prince said with unsubtle sarcasm. "Give yourself a good lasting impression of this place, if you must. And… tell no one else. I will tell the others when I am ready. Understand?"_

"_What about the other _teams_?" Vallon demanded. "When will you tell Team Absolution? Team Remorse? High Intelligence, huh? When will they know?"_

"_They will know," Prince replied, "only once we are long gone."_

_There was a sudden clanking of rocks as Prince disappeared into his room, closing the door forcefully behind him. Stifling a roar, Vallon stormed off. Legend remained standing for a moment with a hanging jaw, as if deciding what to say to the empty air._

_---_

_Prince sat in the corner of his room, the light of his bedside pyre at the other end glaring in his eyes. His gaze was intense, calculating; his mind raced with thoughts, doubts, and many unknowns…_

_But his heart was still. Fixed in place. Frozen._

_Life in the resistance, by its very nature, was never easy. Nor would this be. It didn't take an Alakazam to guess that every other Pokémon he considered a companion would disagree with him. Why wouldn't they? They had every reason to. The Gold Division was a respectable, fully functional place, and several of its members, including perhaps himself, were legends incarnate… In fact, just earlier that day, he'd run into Daemon from Team Remorse in the hall, who had congratulated him on his previous victory._

"_You have done well," the hound had said. "But, in time, I have come to expect no less. It is an honor to have you as an ally. May your fire always burn brightly."_

_It was curious; Daemon was not the social type, nor did he commonly give out complements. In fact, the Houndoom was most of the time quite a disagreeable, stern Pokémon, tasked with keeping his leader's thoughts in line when they would fall astray. But even he had acknowledged the good work Team Flamewheel had done, for whatever reason…_

_Yes, he knew: there was no sane reason to give up his current, well-deserved post. None at all. But… then, in that case, why was he doing it?_

"_Never, in my entire life, have I been as sure of something as this," Prince muttered. "Not when I formed this team, not when we built the barricade. I realize that I have never before known true certainty… not until now. Yet… such a certain emotion on such flimsy reasons… how will I expect any others to understand me? No one will see things the way I do…"_

"_I understand," said a soft voice from nearby._

_Prince turned his head, lending his gaze to Canniah. She sat beside him, lending him the company he desired._

"_You don't," Prince grumbled. "I don't believe you."_

"_I don't understand your reasoning, no," she admitted, staring him in the eyes. "But I know what it's like to be certain of something beyond the shadow of a doubt. It burns."_

_Yes, he knew, it did burn. He nodded._

"_Perhaps it is how we have become complacent," Prince speculated. "Maybe that's what bothers me. If we are comfortable and happy all the time, our fire weakens, our status quo becomes corrupted… we lose sight of the war, the bigger picture… Maybe…? Why, how can I attempt to explain this… it's a calling, and it struck hard and fast… I feel as if I have been enraptured by The Call…"_

"_Maybe Arceus is just trying to tell you something," Canniah said, approaching him and gently nuzzling him on the chest. "Maybe Lucario really does need us more than we're needed here. Maybe that's where your destiny really is."_

"_Maybe," Prince sighed, reaching up his hand to stroke the fur behind her ear. "But just as well, it could be my own pride speaking… even so, I can't question it. I can't deny it… even if I should be questioning it, I can't… But what do I do, Canniah? I cannot mind control another Pokémon… how will I get them to see this? Will they still trust me after this?"_

"_I know they will," Canniah assured him. "We would follow you to the end of the earth, Prince… For better or for worse, we're here… Just follow your heart, and we'll be there with you."_

Follow your heart. _How many times had he heard that phrase? In every children's story, at least. Half the time, it was the moral of the story whenever Legend would lend himself to entertain the training teams with his fairy tales…_

_But as he sat there, his thumb absently tracing circles through the Arcanine's furry mane, he wondered… was his heart really to be trusted?_

_---_

_Through the darkness of uncertainty,  
Through the troubled pangs of grief and fear,  
Through the ashes of defeat, and shame,  
Though everything is gone…  
There shines a blazing candle-flame  
to light the way another day  
And, so, we carry on._

**End of Verse 1**


	7. Interlude

It was done.

The Frozen Spring lay far behind. In ruins.

Trampled by the Master's army.

The opposition had been crushed. Outsmarted.

There had been no choice for that Infernape and his team. Once they knew they had been outdone, they fled, taking minimal survivors with them.

The rest… they were gone. Dead. Declared unnecessary by a higher power.

And now, Frozen Spring was no longer frozen. It was ablaze. Burning to the ground.

And it was all because of her.

"_Leave this place behind," the Skarmory said. "What do you have to lose? This place is a miserable pile of ice. The world wouldn't miss it if it were gone, and neither should you."_

She walked along with her new friends, letting her mind catch up on what had brought her here. How it had come to this. How she was now on her way to joining the Master's forces.

She gave no second thought to her old friends. After all, they weren't even friends, were they? No, that wasn't the right thing to call them. They were all… stupid.

No… the world wouldn't miss them.

"_Come with us," the Skarmory said. "Serve the Master, and you will never be hungry. You will never be left wanting, or without a purpose in life. And you will always have friends, and a place to stay."_

Turq, that insipid thug with water for brains. He really thought he was something. Never could see past the end of his own nose.

No, the world could do without him.

Cyyn, the Golduck, who lived his life talking to fish. Yeah, fish. Like that was really meaningful.

He wouldn't be missed.

Or Lapras, their battle trainer, who didn't actually know anything. Just fight, he'd always say. Just fight, and I'll watch you, and tell you if you're doing anything wrong. Trying to convince himself that he meant something to the world. Trying to give his life purpose.

Well… he was gone, now…

A purpose. A place to go. She had one now, finally. After living most her life in that icy hell, now she'd get to travel the world. Meet lots of Pokémon. Use her strength to its potential.

Kill.

Well… she would get used to that, in time. These things would stop bothering her after a while. After all, she wasn't bothered by the fact that she'd just betrayed her own home town. That had to be a start.

"_Good bird," the Skarmory said. "You are a wise one for your age. You made the right choice. I promise you won't regret it. Now… there's just one thing Magma wants you to do before he lets you join us."_

"_What do you want?" she demanded._

"_Easy," the Skarmory said. "We know that someone's protecting this place. We know that you've met them. What we need you to tell us is how strong they are, and how many there are…"_

It was worth it, in the end. Now, as she found herself accepted among the Master's group, led by a hardy Arcanine, she knew it was worth it. She would have a new home now. A _real_ home. Not some ice-ridden mockery of one.

Maybe she would be promoted to a general. That would be nice. She always loved telling little defenseless Pokémon what to do. Or… maybe she would become famous. Maybe history books would be written about her deeds. Maybe she would even see this Master everyone had been talking about. Maybe she could see him with her own eyes.

A whole new world of possibilities opens when you are not left wanting. When you are not left struggling for survival, forced to live a lifestyle you can't stand just to make end's meat. Possibilities arise, as if from nowhere. Dreams become real. Things that were superfluous and meaningless before start to become glittering gems of desire. Power, wealth, and security make all these things possible. Make all these things real, when they seemed so fake before. So unreachable. So laughable. She'd always felt the longing to go explore the world. It was like an instinct planted inside of her. Now… it would come true.

At the end of the day, the squadron had stopped to set up camp. Already, in just the thirty or so miles they had traveled, the atmosphere started to become warmer.

Warm air. It wasn't something she felt often in those northern recesses. She had hardened her inner fire, teaching it to adapt to the blizzards and snowstorms… But now, the temperature had risen just a few degrees, and it pleased her inner fire so deeply that she knew she never wanted to feel anything else.

"Who are you?" asked the Arcanine. "What may I call you?"

She found herself standing before Magma, the Arcanine, the leader of the assault on the Frozen Spring. On all sides were the Pokémon which had assisted in the endeavor. The Machoke who had torn down buildings. The Skarmory who had scouted ahead and attained the necessary intelligence… _her _intelligence… The Flareon squad who had used their fire against… against all of the Pokémon who… burned easily…

"My name is Caron," she answered.

"A fine name," the Arcanine said. "Well, Caron, thank you for lending your hand to our cause. From my heart, and from the hearts of everyone here, I welcome you to the team."

There was a cheer from the crowd. Applause.

It all felt so surreal.

"You are very strong," the Arcanine said. "I can't fathom how strong you will be when you evolve. I'm sure the Master will be very pleased with you."

"And I'll be pleased to serve him," Caron answered proudly.

There was a party. A celebration of a task well-done. And she was part of it.

For the first time in what seemed like her whole life, she ate well. She laughed with good company. Though, she didn't find much to speak about. The fellow warriors spoke about their adventures and experiences serving Magma. They all had their stories to tell, about the times they fought he Watchers with their bare hands, or the times they slew dragons, or the times they went up against the resistance and won. But Caron… she didn't have much to say. All she had were her life's experiences, her pathetic little memories of the Frozen Spring. Memories which she had little use for anymore. Instead, she laughed along with her new team, and hoped one day she would have stories to tell as well.

The evening fell. Tents were set up like odd teepees hung around the trunks of trees. Tiny pieces of cloth to shield them from the reign of the Watchers.

Caron sat in her tent, alone. She had a tent all to herself. For once, she wasn't sharing it with her aggravating classmates.

She sighed happily. Contently.

_There are many foes in the world,_ Lapras had said. _But the greatest, most devastating of them all… Complacency._

No. He had no place in her life anymore. He was gone. Gone. As if he never existed. He'd never tell her what to do, ever again.

Lapras never knew what he was talking about.

Caron opened her tent. She breathed the warm evening air, air that was like the hottest, sunniest days in the spring. She glanced around the camp. The bonfire still burned brilliantly. Birds circled the air, keeping an eye on the land. Sentries were set in position around the perimeter, standing their ground until the Watchers would be out to relieve them of their duties.

She was safe. Nothing was going to touch her while she slept. Lest of all, that resistance force. She saw with her eyes how weak and pathetic they were. How they thought seven Pokémon could protect dozens of civilians.

She decided to go for a walk, to go stand by the fire. She knew nobody would stop her.

"Yes," said a voice from a nearby tent as she made her way there. "I know the Master will be displeased."

"No survivors," said another voice. "Those were his direct orders."

"Yes, I know," the first one said, the voice which had to have been the Arcanine. The tent, positioned near the bonfire, was the command tent in which the Arcanine retired.

"This was not a recruitment mission," said a third voice. "The Master has no room for all those who wish to join him. If he was looking for new recruits, he would have ordered us to find them."

"I understand this," the Arcanine said. "Yes… the Master may kill her for irrelevance. But then again, he may not. Let him make that decision."

"Then again, he may kill _you_ for disobedience," the other voice said. "You plan to go against his orders?"

"It's a problem," the Arcanine said. "I probably should kill her and be done with it, yes. But… I almost don't have the heart, not after the welcome we gave her. I suppose I should have Skarmory do it. He was the one who disillusioned her in the first place."

"Would probably cause an uproar among the troops, either way" said the other voice. "Wouldn't want them getting restless when we just come out and kill one of our own. Well… now that they consider her one of our own, that is."

There was a silence. Caron's heartbeat drowned out her hearing.

"I don't know," the Arcanine sighed. "I don't really know. I suppose I shouldn't disobey the Master, but… No. I won't kill her."

Caron released her held breath. She honestly didn't know what to make of the conversation.

"But…" the Arcanine suddenly continued, "Perhaps… if some sort of _accident_ were to happen to her…"

"Ah, very well, sir," a voice said. "It shall be done. I will be… _creative_."

"It's a shame we just can't eat her," the other voice said. "Combusken meat is _heavenly_. And, best of all, when you cook it, you don't have to worry about burning it…"

Hearty laughter erupted from within the tent.

Caron ran.

She didn't care which direction. She ran. Her mind was blank.

"What was that?!" a voice yelped. "Do you think…"

"By Arceus, she heard _the whole thing!_" the Arcanine growled. "Get her!! _GET HER!_"

The voices disappeared as she ran. The camp site disappeared as she ran. Everything disappeared. Her mind was blanked. Nothing mattered now. Nothing mattered but survival.

She ran swiftly, her taloned feet carrying her across the land like a charging raptor. She knew how to run. To evade pursuers. It was one thing she was good at. One thing she understood.

"_GET HER!!" the Infernape barked. "If she escapes, everything is lost!! DON'T LET HER GO!!"_

_The Infernape chased her. A Ninetales tracked her through the snow. A raging dragon soared up above in the sky, scanning the surface of the earth for her._

_It was a surprise attack. A setup. They had captured the Skarmory, held it captive. They had learned what he had said. And what he had planned. They had learned of her planned betrayal._

_It was up to her to deliver the message. To betray her hometown. It was all up to her._

_They would have chased her to the ends of the earth, but she evaded them. They were just not fast enough. Her speed served her well._

_North, she darted, until she disappeared into the landscape… Into the piled snow and the Earth's crevices… into the mountain crags, the places where no sane Pokémon would venture…_

_Into the place where the Master's forces waited for her…_

The dream was shattered so quickly.

As she ran, the sound of her pumping heart filling her head, her mind torn down, she began to wonder if the dream was ever there in the first place.

And now… Now, she had lost _everything_. Now… she had _nowhere_ to run. Nobody to run to.

But she kept running. Late into the night, she kept running, until her pursuers had to turn back in fear of the Watchers. She kept running until she found a place to stay for the night. A place to survive.

And as she caught her breath, stumbling in exhaustion onto the wet cave floor, it dawned on her exactly what had happened.

Of course they would betray her. Why did she think she could trust Pokémon who had betrayed hundreds of others? Who had killed…

…killed… burned… her entire hometown?

Why did she think those Pokémon were trustworthy? Why had she made a fool of herself?

Because she didn't know any better. She had never known anything else. She had known nothing but life in the Frozen Spring which now no longer existed.

Just as she trusted herself, her own heart… a heart which had also saw fit to betray all those she had ever known…

And as she lay there on the cave floor, alone in her privacy, she realized… she had to die that night. Along with Turq, Lapras, Albert, Cyyn… she had to die with them. Die with all the others she had betrayed, because she, too, had been a victim of her betrayal.

And a new Combusken would have to awaken the next morning and take her place.

She had no other choice. She had to put her past behind her. Erase it from her memory. Move on.

As her eyes fluttered closed, she forced all thoughts out of her head but one:

_Something must lie beyond the horizon…_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

_Hey, I literally just had a random idea for this chapter and poured it down on paper in about an hour. Cheesy, maybe, but heck, now we know who the mole was… I know a lot of people wanted to know who it was, and truth is, I didn't have a single plan for it up until now. Well… there you go._

_Now that I've actually used the character, I'll mention again that __**Caron the Combusken **__was created by __**Steben**_**. **

_Anyway, Verse II is on its way! Watch out for black Flygons, overpowered Torterras, Shiny Golems, and much more! _


	8. Verse 2: One Good Reason

_We begin our tale with our hero__  
A noble prince, proud and tall__  
Within whose chest, a blazing heart__  
A scalding inferno so bright  
Burning for honor, and beauty, and truth  
And all of those things__  
For which a good prince should fight.  
__But above all else, justice…  
__For he knew, at his core__  
That a world without recompense  
Or retribution for harm  
A world mistaking wrong for right  
Was a world where honor could never dwell  
Where truth becomes silenced  
Spoken softly in the shadows, but never heard  
And beauty, defiled  
Banished from the eye  
Repulsed, abandoned, and forgotten  
Forsaken among the shadows of the night.  
A godless, heartless world, a mockery…  
A world he would resist until his dying breath  
Fighting with every ounce of his might._

_And every dawn, as the sun would ascend  
As he rose, anew, to keep watch over his kingdom  
He saw this world  
As he gazed upon his precious land.  
Nothing else, it seemed, would meet his eye  
Not the mighty castle in which he dwelled  
Nor the fertile prairies, the ancient forests  
Nor the towering mountains so high  
Nor the birds of the air, the beasts of the earth  
Not even the glorious rays of sunlight  
Painting the sapphire sky…  
Nothing, he saw… but this dawning darkness  
This snarling beast… prowling…  
This tragedy… looming…  
Just over the horizon  
Gathering strength for the assault it has planned  
Laying in wait just behind the sunrise  
Hiding… just beyond his sight.  
Its reign of shadow soon at hand…_

**Verse 2**

I would never hesitate to admit that I am a very romantic soul; I do not always see things the way they truly are, but rather the way I wish they might be.

In my eyes, the dawn of a new day is never just a moment, but a blank page, a new chapter for us to compose in the cycle of life. Pokémon are never just Pokémon, rather, each individual is an embodiment of virtue and of spirit, each representing ideas, possibilities, heroes of the grand tale of history. Pain and suffering cannot remain pain and suffering for long, until they become meaningful tests of character, a testament to determination, a temporary obstacle to a glorious reward. A golden lens filters my vision; everything must have meaning. Like a well-woven story, everything must fit together perfectly to represent the bigger picture.

It is my own choice to wear this lens at all; if I desired, I could always remove it and view the world from the eyes of a realist. Tell me, though, what good would that do? Enough realists already walk this land to last from now until doomsday, and they're doing their job just fine on their own. Instead, I take up the mantle of the bard, my heart beating with the exaggeration of every emotion, my mind cluttered with the memory of every insignificant detail that catches my attention, my imagination constantly creating things that do not exist, drawing parallels between things that would otherwise have no business being related. Indeed, I see things the way I wish they were, starting with my own self, and in doing so, I have changed myself into who I am. I have chosen this path.

Now, you might be asking, "Legend, isn't it difficult to let your head drift among the clouds, always finding the false hard to discern from the real?" And to that, I would stand tall and proud and laugh heartily to your face. No! It is not I who finds it difficult to discern the real from the false, it is _you_! For you and I both carry the same kinds of feelings, the only difference being that you let them move you and animate you without giving a second thought to their existence, whereas I know each one by heart and all the different ways to cause them. When you mourn, when you cry, or when you rage, or when you stare blankly at the wall, I understand you, even though you see nothing in your heart but an incomprehensible whirlpool of rapid forces dragging you under. I know what the voice in your head tells you. No, I do not regret my choice; I command this power over you, and I am quite proud of having captured it. I will explain why.

By birthright, many Pokémon species must suffer a difficult childhood. The hatchling Psyduck must learn to live with the reality of pain, as it suffers a headache constantly boring through the side of its skull and learns there is no way to stop it. The Cubone must learn to live with the reality of death, and shame, driven by instinct to hide his face within the skull of another creature. And then, there is the meek little baby Vulpix, said to be the tamest of all fire Pokémon, who must learn the reality of loneliness and disconnection. It wanders across the land, feelings and instincts raging deep within its heart, all conflicting with one another—feelings of angst, and anger, and fear, and uncertainty, all at once… The Vulpix, born to be tame, does not understand what they are, or what they mean about the world, or which one to act upon. Though the Vulpix might find friends, it is alone absolutely, a stuttering fool unable to communicate what it means, or how it feels, unable to understand the slightest thing about the heart which burns inside of it.

In time, most Vulpix learn to adapt. However, there was one who discovered the power of the spoken word, the only power he could ever want.

With words, I could make others listen to me. I could command them, and they would obey. I could communicate the things I saw and heard, and with a bit more practice, the things I thought and felt. I could change the way others felt. I could manipulate them. I could help them. I could rally them. I could teach them. I could steal their undivided attention, make them take me seriously. It only took a couple of words, and I could _move_ the souls of others, a power any Vulpix would attribute to a god. It is said by some that Pokémon are granted a wish when they evolve. If that is true, my wish took hold of me once I had transformed, granting me mastery over these words I loved so. From that moment, I knew I would use my power for all it was worth, never again to be unheard.

I see things the way I wish to see them, but that is what I need. In doing so, I am able to tell others what they wish to hear. I choose not to be a realist, but something like a pessimist and an optimist at the same time. An _artist_. Any realist would call me a fool, but they rely on the services I provide. Without my stories, my legends, my teachings, they would be lost, like the baby Vulpix, unable to decipher what their heart tells them. I speak my words to bring order where there is chaos.

The reason I'm telling you all of this is so, perhaps, you may come to understand the role I played in leading to what eventually happened. By the end, we had all played a role. All of us had used our respective talents to bring about that dark day. We were all responsible. But my role came rather quickly compared to the others… it was I who saw things from behind my golden lens, and spurred the beginning of Team Flamewheel's actions.

And, so, on the morning Lucario had dispatched us to the Destiny Abyss…

I sat through the remaining three-and-a-half hours of the meeting, fervently praying to Deoxys so he might slam a meteor into the side of Rayquaza's Clutch to end the processions early. I could not have cared less, at that point, about the other teams. I did not want to hear how much money we lost in a failed construction effort, or how badly Team Beacon's severed trade route hurt us. I did not want to hear about the new Monferno joining Team Vicegrip down at District Three… that team could never tell when to stop expanding… and I certainly had no care of hearing what kind of items Lucario wanted us to donate this month. I hoped Prince was not relying on me to memorize any of Lucario's words which did not pertain to our mission… I was long gone from that meeting before it even ended, my glee-filled heart already deep within the new mystery dungeon, exploring its dark and dangerous depths.

When it was finally over, we fled Rayquaza's Clutch so quickly we probably matched the speed of our frantic sprint that morning. Our spirits were soaring just then. Prince looked relieved, Canniah was ecstatic, and even Vallon showed a satisfied smile. I wondered if I had ever seen the team in a happier state since the day we returned from the barricade to report our victory. Now, it was a cause for celebration—for we, Team Flamewheel, had just been assigned a nine-star mission, instructed by Lucario to begin our efforts at the first possible opportunity. We needed to prepare!

The mountainous thunderclouds overhead had made progress since the dawn. They had shifted, securing their absolute dominion over our land and sealing out the sunlight from one horizon to the other. Having settled in place, they began producing the first flurries of a horrible winter storm. Tiny specks of white filled the sky, swirling and dancing like airborne ashes, as we hurried back to District Eight… But, for what was perhaps the first time while dwelling in Lucario's domain and enduring the coldhearted forces of nature, I did not feel them. For the first time, those painful temperatures of the Outskirts, those freezing, stabbing winds… They meant nothing to me. No… for, you see, if my spirit had died with all the victims at the Frozen Spring, it was now resurrected, like a shining phoenix from the ashes. With the wings of Moltres at my feet, and Ho-Oh's breath in my throat, I welcomed the cold which challenged me, and I challenged it back. I scoffed at it. I dared it to do better. It made me feel _alive_.

Oh… if only you knew what it is to be a Pokémon of fire, you who cling to all your dead, passive elements… you who have your bodies lined with chunks of cold steel, or imbued with flora, growing and sprouting so sluggishly as you lie like a Snorlax beneath the afternoon sun… You who find solace beneath the vacant, unfeeling depths of the ocean or beneath the dark dirt underfoot, or you who weather no discomfort in the barren plains of the arctic… Though you find happiness and power amidst your element, only you, who share the glowing Ember, understand the element which dances, flows, and pulses… the element which_ lives_. And when that fire flares, you understand what it is like to feel moved, aroused, to feel as though every flame in the world were one of the same entity, and you were its hatchling child unleashed upon the land to carry out its will…

It is said in some legends that, at the dawn of existence as Mew gave birth to the creatures who would fill the far corners of the earth, she bestowed upon each group a purpose, a role to play in the grand scheme of creation. And so, there came about the mighty pillars of strength, the protectors; and after them, the winged ones who soared through the air and saw everything from above, the sentries; and then there were those who lived for centuries and passed down their wisdom to the new generations, the teachers; and then, the creatures who would tend to the land and cultivate the flowers, trees, and plants, the gardeners… One by one, she set down these creatures in their proper places, giving them everything they would need to fulfill their duties…

But then, once all the creatures had taken their places among the world, there also came another group, a group with a very different nature. They were built to be untamable. Wild. Powerful. Unstoppable. They were the destroyers. Their purpose was to snarl in the face of order, gnash their teeth, and tear down everything the world would build. These were the Pokémon of Flame. These were the creatures that started wildfires which spread for miles, destroying cities, wrecking homes, dissolving the most mighty and ancient of woodlands until all that remained were heaps of soulless, black ash. These were the creatures whose hearts were so filled with pride that they would stop at nothing to slaughter and subdue all which offended them. Each as an embodiment of chaos and devastation, they were tasked with the purpose of razing the past to make room for the future; to allow the cycle of life to begin anew by demolishing the old; and to challenge, to hone all those who would call themselves strong. And so, to fulfill their task of cleansing the earth, each was given a share of the sacred Ember, the eternal, undying flame, to dwell in their hearts and to animate them, and to let it spread wherever it may catch.

Mespirit imbued this desire into the deepest instincts of the fire Pokémon, this irrefutable drive to find those things in the world which we despise, which harm our pride, which get in our way… and shower them with flames, and watch them burn… And, although the terrible fire dragons, the behemoths, the flame-spewers of old which dominated the land and wrought fear into the hearts of every living creature are gone, extinct, and forgotten, their bones buried miles beneath the earth's crust, remaining only as petrified fossils never again to see the light of day… Their legacy remains, for the sacred Ember, the desire of the ravagers and the destroyers, still burns at the heart of every fire Pokémon, giving our lives purpose, giving us strength in difficulty, and bringing light where there would be darkness.

Unless you share the Ember, you would not understand how I felt that morning as I embarked upon our new task. My heart burned with that untamable vigor. I was ready and willing to do anything. To endure anything. To plunge myself into that bottomless abyss. To seek and burn down all those who would ever attempt to harm an innocent Pokémon. If the Master would happen to capture me that day, if he had tortured me with freezing cold water or with his tricks of the mind, he would not have gotten even a flinch from me. No… that morning, I was immortal.

And my Canniah… her Ember burned brightly, too. I could see it glimmering behind her eyes. The heaviness of heart, the confusion I had seen in her that morning, that sadness that never had a place in her soul to begin with… it was gone. I watched as she pranced alongside her Prince, her fur billowing in the building winds… happy for him. Happy that his desires had come true, that he had reconciled for our grave mistakes. Happy that Lucario trusted him. I watched her as she beamed with life and hope, just as a child of the Ember should… and so, I, too, felt happy for her.

But my Prince… where was his fire?

I balked in mid-stride when I found that he suddenly did not share my joy, my newfound determination. His smile was bright after Lucario had addressed him, his triumphant spirit blazing for the world to see… but now, moments later, it had vanished, making me wonder for a moment if the morning's event had been something I had hallucinated for myself to cope with the unthinkable consequences I had feared all along.

But why? Out of the four of us, his happiness should have been the most absolute. This was to be our defining moment! This was what he had wanted all along! So… why had his flame faltered?

I beheld him, my Prince, the one I thought I knew. I remember that moment when I glanced at him, glimpsing his downcast, spiritless eyes… And, for what seemed like the second time in my service to him, it was as if I knew nothing about him.

My mind sprang back to a certain day, now seeming like centuries in the past, a moment I did not want to remember… It was the day my Prince stood before me in our team's beloved hall and announced his intention to disband from the golden division. So sudden, so jarring, it was, like the death of a loved one. It was a secret he had kept all to himself, afraid that it would be affected by the words and opinions of others. So resolute, he was, that he fled before anyone could argue…

Though I spent hours mulling over that day, analyzing the memory, trying to interpret it… It still confused me to the core. The point came, about a month's time later when we had already settled into our new home, when I simply gave up. I resolved to myself, should the thought arise again, that I would push it aside and accept the truth that it had happened, and that the past was unchangeable … pretending that it meant nothing of an unseen turmoil in my Prince's heart… I had since learned to cope with it, to set aside my confusion, my worry for my Prince. I had forgiven him for this one and only act which my ego would only label as a mistake. Someday, I told myself, it would begin to make sense. Someday I would see the justification as clear as the sun in the sky.

But the sun did not shine that morning. The clouds were seamless, casting the Outskirts into some facsimile of the night. And my Prince was troubled in a way that I did not understand.

Perhaps he couldn't yet find the means to forgive himself, I imagined. Perhaps the deaths still weigh on him. Perhaps he needs to realize that he is responsible for saving the lives of twenty-nine Pokémon who would have otherwise been slaughtered, and that the Master's sins were not his own.

Perhaps the cold was bothering him, I told myself as I gazed toward his weary form, and the scowl upon his face which he tried to hide. Perhaps he wished to return to the warmth of our shelter. Perhaps he was hungry, having skipped his breakfast as penance, and had his mind set upon the greenhouse. Perhaps he simply desired sleep.

The next thing I felt was something like an arrow to the heart, a pang far too powerful to forget… for I realized the truth.

His resolve was faltering. My Prince… he doubted himself.

I had no need to think twice about it; I knew it to be true. The mistakes we had made at the Spring betrayed our troubles. He questioned whether we still worked effectively as a team. He wondered if his worst nightmare had come true, that he and his team had been weaklings all along, weaklings made to look like heroes standing next to the legendary warriors of the golden division. Weaklings that ran off into the cold to prove their strength, only to die by their own incompetence. These questions circled in his head, and I knew he had not an answer for any of them.

I could just hear the tiny voice rising from the far corner of his mind, stabbing his soul as it spoke: _Perhaps we are not up to this task, _it said to him. _Perhaps… Lucario is wrong to trust us._

When this epiphany struck me, my flame faltered. A shiver of cold wracked my side, the harsh breeze whipping past me and breaking through my defenses for just a moment.

I felt burdened. My vigorous gallop slowed to a stop, and I watched, blankly, as Canniah, Vallon, and my Prince passed me by. I would catch up with them. I would meet them at the district. But right then, I needed a moment of quiet reflection. My mind needed to find meaning in this, and I had to think about it … that is, after my mind would decide to start up again. But at that point, I simply watched, stunned, as my team fled. I wondered vaguely if any of them would notice I was gone.

Canniah noticed.

She eyed me as I stayed behind, standing frozen in my confusion. She said something to the other two, who continued on their way while she remained.

She approached me, my gentle Canniah. Her nature drove her to come to me, to comfort me in my trouble. She would have done the same for my Prince, or for Vallon, or for whichever companion of hers had hesitated or fallen behind. Now, she came for me. Concern glinted in her eye, questioning me without saying a word. I replied with a gaze of my own, a gaze which broke as she ducked her head to stride against a sudden burst of wind.

Then, she stood there before me, lending me company as I stood beneath that brewing storm, waiting for me to speak to her. She was always a very quiet soul, listening more than speaking, but her presence was often the only thing I needed to find comfort. I watched her, touched by the visage of her motionless figure before my eyes as she stood proud and strong against the vicious wind. I watched as the snowflakes drifted into her, melting upon contact with her rippling orange coat and her immaculate white mane…

"Have we hurt him?" I muttered under my breath, letting the wind carry my words to her ears. "You and I, what we said to him this morning… did it bring him hurt?"

"He's been hurting for a long time now, Legend," she told me. "It's not anything we said. He's confused. He's been this way for a while."

"For how long?" I muttered back, now staring past her and watching as the flame atop my Prince's crown became a tiny ember on the horizon.

"Since we came here," she replied softly. "It's so cold here…"

My gaze returned to her. I could see, now, that she had begun to tremble in discomfort. Her flame had faltered, just as mine had.

"What can we do?" I beseeched of her. "You saw how he held himself. He was disillusioned, even after Lucario gave no second thought to the Frozen Spring. He's not happy with this new assignment. He fears we might be an incompetent force after all. He … he has no right to think such things! His wisdom… his skills are remarkable. He belongs as our leader. If he cannot hold himself as our leader… this team will not function! Even now, your Ember and mine have both faltered only because of him. We will fail before we begin!"

"We failed already," Canniah said. "We failed when we came here. That's when Team Flamewheel died. And… his spirit died. I've been trying to help him. You're right. He's a perfect leader. But he feels like he isn't in control of this team. Or of himself, even. Legend… he still has no idea why we're really here."

I bared my teeth, growling bitterly as cold began to numb the feeling in my legs.

"This morning, he spoke of..."

"No, not even that," she interrupted. "He might like to think that he brought us here for training. It's a good explanation he likes to use. It makes a lot of sense. He uses it for comfort."

"But it has brought him no comfort," I replied. "If what you say is true… Oh, Canniah… he told me, all those months ago, that there was no reason, only the decision… I thought by now he would have found the reason…"

Canniah shook her head sadly. Steam drifted from her nostrils, growing darker and thicker by the minute as the temperature steeply dropped.

"So it is… just as I stand here in the cold, not knowing why I stand here in the cold… I only obey the order of my gut, which tells me I need to stand here in the cold for a moment," I rambled with some measure of profoundness. "While I could return to the shelter and sit beside a fire, and my mind would be ever the more clearer for it, I choose… to keep standing here, not knowing why… And so it is with him."

I tried to freeze my heart in that disposition and study it while it lingered, hoping it would grant me insight into whatever he felt. But the wind increased, disturbing my concentration, and the cold was steadily increasing, marking its intention to become as unbearable as Zerferia itself. I could tell that Canniah was growing anxious to take me back. I sighed, and a thick stream of smoke emptied from my snout.

"What do we do?" I asked again to the one who was closer to my Prince than I was, the one he had entrusted with his heart and all his inner feelings. "What now?"

"I… don't know," she replied. The same reply I had given her just hours earlier to the same question. And I knew that it was the simple, unbent truth. And now that I understood the greater issue at hand, the answer felt heavier this time.

Still I stood, my paws cemented in place. I could not accept that we were doomed to failure from the start. I looked at the problems from different perspectives, trying different patterns of thought, testing different emotions and philosophies against it, hoping that I could find some sort of answer… hoping I could find the meaning…

As another shiver overtook my body, a thought flickered to life in my mind.

"He does not have a reason for dwelling here in the cold," I spoke to her in words that flowed powerfully from my tongue. "So, we must give him one. Destiny Abyss… There is no task we are better suited for than a dungeon crawl, whether it'd be seven floors or seventy. We are equipped. We are skilled. He has no right to fear this! Canniah… let us make _this mission_ the reason he came!"

A sad kind of smile came to life upon her face. I understood what it meant: I amused her. She wanted to tell me, _Legend, it's not that simple_, but she could not bring herself to say it. So, she smiled at me, admiring my silly, romantic burst of optimism.

"But at the core, isn't it that simple?" I insisted. "If… His decision to come here was a very simple one. No elaborate web of motives, no regrets, _nothing_! We simply came. And if I know anything about the hearts of Pokémon, the solution is just as simple. Team Flamewheel needs to conquer this project. And by that, I mean the _real_ team, the one which served among the ranks of the golden division, not the seven sad Pokémon who've been trying to masquerade as them for the past two seasons. By the gods, Canniah, if we could return him to the way he was before all this happened… He is the flare in all of our lives! If he could be healed… We could be great once again."

"I've tried to help him," she insisted a second time. "But he never changes. I think the only one who can heal him is himself."

"No! You're wrong!" I barked at her, giddy in my conviction. "No, you are only one, Canniah. And it will take more than one to help him. It will take six! If he has felt alone in his uncertainty, come, let us show him that he is not alone. He has six servants, each with incredible talent, ready to support him where he would fall. Together, we'll keep the civilians out of Snowcrest with such a mighty barricade, not even the birds shall be able to pass!"

I watched as her smile changed, regaining a subtle glimmer of the joy she'd shown just moments before. She still found me crazy for thinking along my own lines, but now, she wanted to believe me.

"Just imagine, if we were to fall," I further told her. "Where would that place us?"

"It might destroy this team," Canniah responded, her smile gone at the thought. "We would have so many more deaths on our shoulders… Prince wouldn't ever live it down. And Lucario might actually banish us this time. I think… Prince might lose all trust in the team after all. He might disband us. I really don't want to think about what would happen."

"Then _**don't**_," I returned powerfully. "Let us _succeed_, and let _nothing_ stand in our way!"

She was silent for a moment, considering my words. She bowed her head, her gaze falling to the ground. I knew which images flashed before her eyes, the very images I told her to force away. Our promotion among the Emerald Division as a reliable team had been a cause for celebration, overshadowing our failure and easing the guilt of seeing a hundred lives fall from our grasp, but the thought of defeat was something neither of us wanted to consider, something which would render all of our joys up until this point utterly meaningless. I knew she imagined Prince, the one whom her heart pined for, sinking to the lowest pit of despair. I knew she imagined Lucario becoming disgusted with us, having let him down twice in a row, and discharging us as deadweight.

"You're right," she finally said, pawing at the dirt. "We really need to win this time."

"Then what are we waiting for, I wonder?" I growled. "Let us go, and win!"

As I returned to my home base striding alongside Canniah, I could no longer feel the cold tingle of the snow collecting across my golden coat, or the brush of the icy air. My spirit had regained its liveliness. My fire was strengthening again, endowing me with a spiritual shield which kept out every sort of discomfort or displeasure, rendering them meaningless. I resolved never to let it drown again, knowing, in the upcoming trials, that I would need the greatest strength of my Ember to survive…

…And so would my Prince. But, if his own Ember did not blaze, it would need to be cross-lit by those that did.

The stage was set for my contribution to the story.

* * *

**District Eight**

Though our three remaining team members had yet to return from damage control, the four of us wasted not a minute in preparing for the westward excursion.

Our den at District Eight was a quaint little series of chambers, built only to give us a place to plan, store our valuables, and sleep comfortably without the wind or the Watchers disturbing us. It was a simple building made of stone and cement, perfect to hold a measure of warmth but not easily burned down if Prince or I were to accidentally sneeze. But it was not a place to live; like any honest resistance team, we lived on the field of duty. It offered us no luxury aside from a fireplace. At one point, on a particularly bad day, Kabir even ransacked the place and pawned all the previous owners' furniture which reminded him of the golden division in any way, which ultimately amounted to everything but one wooden table and the wall-mounted shelves in the closet. I suppose it was healthy to a degree that I never mourned the loss of the place when I was not there.

So, we gathered in our pithy little den, lit the fireplace, and huddled around the table to commence with our planning, and Prince unrolled and pinned down the Map of Jirachi to the surface. I did my best to glaze over the slew of pinholes, etches, and red markings which marred the parchment, especially those most recent ones pertaining to the Frozen Spring effort. It was still our very first copy of the map, the one we had received from Alakazam upon attaining a high enough rank to merit a full map of Ambera rather than just the Plateau and surrounding areas. Looking to the south, it became a sort of time capsule to all of our old missions—even the location of the barricade just west of the Master's Domain could still be seen circled with heavy markings of red ink. We used the thing mercilessly, and it displayed its age; it looked ugly, and could have fallen to shreds if grabbed in the wrong way. I wondered, each time I had to look at it, if purchasing a new map would be worth anything for our collective enthusiasm—but knowing that a copy ran for about the raw price of a Reviver Seed, I found the justification to be unlikely. We would probably continue to use this one until it became an incomprehensible mess.

"Destiny Abyss," Prince muttered, gathering his thoughts and tracing his forefinger around the eastern coast of Ambera. "From what Lucario understands, it's somewhere past here, north of Snowcrest. I suppose we won't know for sure where it is until we make our way to Snowcrest and hear what the crowds are saying. Aside from that, we don't have a _hint_ as to what kind of dungeon it is, or what kind of challenges lay inside. We don't know what Pokémon live there, or what shape the anomaly has taken, or how deep it runs into the earth. All we know… is that it lies something like ten miles past the border. In Zerferia, that's enough distance to waste half of our supplies by the time we even arrive, and that's not even counting the trek to the border."

"Kabir won't like this," Vallon spoke. "When he comes back and sees we've started on another venture so fast after the Spring, he'll be furious. He'll want a few weeks to sit around and feel sorry for himself first."

"Kabir will have to deal with it," Prince said to him, quickly disregarding his inane comment. "Now… since we don't know what we're up against, this will pose a few difficult questions. We have to form the most generalized and all-encompassing dungeon strategy we can manage. Legend, how many Reviver Seeds do we have?

"Still twenty-one," I reported from memory. The number had not changed since our last dungeon exploration, two months before we were assigned to the Frozen Spring. It had been twenty, but we found another one with a stroke of luck at bottom floor of Netherworld Forest.

"A good number… for a sixty-floor dungeon," Prince considered. "If it goes any farther than that, mistakes will be costly. Our strategy needs to be _good_. I wonder, which items do we absolutely need?"

"Aside from every last Reviver Seed? Our X-ray goggles, for sure," I offered. "At least two cleansing orbs, in case one of them decides not to work like at Linden. A sack of gravelrocks would be ideal. Vallon could carry them."

"I think we still have some golden apples," Canniah noted. "Now's the time to use them."

"You know, Tangrind would be the one to ask," Vallon blurted again, raising his voice. "He'd know exactly which items to put in the bag."

"_Tangrind_ is not here at the moment, if you are so blind not to have noticed," Prince returned.

"Then _why_ are we even having this meeting?" Vallon shot. "What makes you think everything will be just fine if they aren't involved?"

"Because, we don't have _time_," Prince growled, gripping the side of the table in frustration. "As we speak, exploration teams are crawling Zerferia in _droves_ and trapping themselves in that dungeon…"

"Oh, yes, and at the Spring, I thought _you_ were keeping an eye to the north," Vallon roared. "Do you _like_ your failures in communication? This mission is going to involve _all_ of us. _All. Of us. _So what if a few dozen stupid exploration teams get themselves killed in the meantime. They deserve it. It's not going to be worth us failing yet _another_ mission because you can't keep the team all clued in."

There is something I failed to mention about Vallon.

Aside from being our team's personal demolition force, Vallon had a secondary duty to Team Flamewheel. This duty involved persistently thinking of ways to ridicule, hurt, and insult Prince however he might. Even at the most inappropriate of times, it was his designated job to find the single most impolite, insensitive phrase and spew it into Prince's face without hesitation.

Yes, I am serious. But don't look at me; he was only following orders.

I imagine that seeing Scythe's relationship with his brash and egotistical Houndoom partner Daemon gave Prince the idea in the first place, and so he was inspired to designate one of his own teammates a devil's advocate. To be honest, it's difficult not to be impressed with the way Daemon plays his role to Team Remorse; whenever Scythe makes a stupid or ignorant decision (and, _yes,_ he has been known to make them quite a lot), Daemon notices instantly and scorns him for it. Their natures are such polar opposites of one another that they complement one another so well, while at the same time making it strikingly hard to believe they can spend more than one day on the same team. Scythe's sense of humility is near bottomless, while Daemon's is so shallow that I would believe the story if someone told me a psychic once opened his mind and removed every last shred of compassion.

And Vallon… well, while not a perfect counter to Prince, I suppose he was the closest thing we had, though it meant the attitude Prince wanted from him had to be forced to a degree. I suppose it was his rough nature which nominated him for the role, and I can't argue with that; he _was_ quite skilled at making himself a bully and speaking condescendingly to the weaker Pokémon. Oddly, I always considered Vallon to be _my_ opposite, rather than Prince's. Come to think of it, I always considered _myself_ more appropriate for the position: when it came to reducing another Pokémon to a whimpering fool using only a couple of words, there were none who could match me. But perhaps Prince's decision was most wise. After all, the virtue of respect burned brighter with me than Vallon; when it came to the most crucial moments, I suppose I might have hesitated to stab his heart with a good insult, whereas the guilt always ricocheted from Vallon's heart of stone. And ultimately, as the months passed and Vallon gained practice in becoming a whiny, insubordinate, selfish brat in the presence of Prince, it _did_ become a crucial service to the team, with some moments I would classify as pure genius on his part. Sometimes his defiance would save all of our tails.

Prince fell silent. Breaking eye contact with Vallon, he found a point upon the map and stared at it for a moment, mulling…

"You're right," he finally mumbled, almost talking to himself. "We've been here for a couple days already. Kabir and the others will not have had a chance to rest after shuffling the survivors everywhere. Maybe we can't rely on them. … Excuse me for a moment. My mind is not clear. I need breakfast…"

At that, our team leader turned and abandoned us, slamming the door on his way out. Off to the greenhouse, no doubt.

We shared a stunned silence for a moment, Canniah sending a questioning glance to Vallon.

"Excuse _me_," Vallon said to the both of us, "but… what just happened?"

"He's hungry, apparently," I offered. "Hunger pangs may soothe the mind when you're mourning, but aren't quite as useful when you need to focus on a task…"

"Ly, did you even _hear_ what he said?" he shot at me, floored that I hadn't noticed a certain pattern of words that, in retrospect, should have jumped out at me like steel spike from the sand. "We _can't rely on them?_ When's the last time you heard _that_ come out of his mouth, in _any_ context? Huh? That's something you would _never_ hear from him! What next, is he going to stop relying on you? Or me? Look, I was just trying to tell him, y'know, maybe we should factor them into our plans just a little bit, since they're not here… Jeeze, what did I say that chased him away?"

"It's not anything we said," I muttered absently, repeating Canniah's words.

As we stood there for a moment around that trashed old map, the broken, floundering resistance team we were… As we wondered what we would say to Prince when he returned, what we _could_ say…

Though my eyes were closed, I watched as Ho-Oh streaked across the winter sky, its wings beating to the rhythm of my heart. I felt as a tiny flame, previously smoldering, flickered to life, a pinprick of light in the shadows of the clouds.

And that, I realized, was the moment of truth.

It wasn't going to happen on the field of battle, or when the team gathered together… No, it had happened much sooner than I was expecting. It was happening right then, right there.

My next words, I realized, would change the future.

I could _see_ the timeline splitting in two before my very eyes, one branch leading to a glorious victory, and the other leading to a fate of tears and damnation for us all. I could resurrect Team Flamewheel to their full glory, their former strength and valor… or I could drive the final nail into the coffin. Either way, it would only take a couple of words from my tongue.

I chose those words carefully. I knew what I had to do.

"Vallon," I barked, breaking triumphantly from my profound daze. "His spirit is dead. It means nothing to him that Lucario acquitted us. As of now, he's still standing at the northern border of the Frozen Spring, frozen in defeat as the Combusken flees to safety. Deep down, he probably _wanted_ Lucario to banish us… it would have given him closure, at least, knowing that coming here was all just a big mistake in the first place. But now, he remains, standing in the snow, wondering if this team is capable of anything anymore. And the fact of the matter? We aren't."

"Harsh words, Ly," Vallon said to me. "You really believe that?"

"He's not the same warrior he used to be," I continued. "You see that, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, of course," he said. "None of us really are the same as we used to be back at the old base. That's just how life is, now."

"Vallon."

"Ly?"

"_He_ _needs to become who he used to be._ _We __**all**__ need to be who we used to be._ The only other option is failure."

My Rhydon companion stared blankly at me, not quite getting the message, or perhaps just not digesting it.

"Do you remember that argument you had with him at Linden Peak?"

"Yeah," he replied, almost chuckling at the memory. "I'd never forget that one. I nearly tore his head off…"

"You need to surpass that."

"What?" he yelped, blinking in apprehension. "You mean… now? Right now?"

"Yes!" I cried in eagerness. "Right now! Go! Follow him out that door! Track him to the greenhouse if you must. Do not be merciful in your words. _Burn him!_ As _deeply as you can!_"

"Why not you?" he pleaded. "You'd be better at getting him to see what you mean…"

"Because it's _your_ duty to him, not mine," I sneered. "Besides, you've grown soft over these months. If you were half as harsh with him as you were at the golden division, he might have never grown weak in the first place. Now, we are going to become the team we used to be, and it's all going to start with you, right here, right now. _Go!!_"

I watched as Vallon's claws curled and became fists. I watched as he rested a blank stare upon the map, his eyes soon narrowing upon the colorful scribbles and X-marks surrounding all the places we had failed since dwelling in District Eight. Here was another reason the map was difficult on the eyes, time after time: there were no such markings down south, where things always seemed to go according to plan. It was a reminder that there was a time when we were spoiled rotten with our victories.

"Please, go," Canniah spoke, the sudden sound of her voice surprising me. "This is what he always wanted you to do."

It was odd to hear her advocate Vallon's role. She had always despised the idea from the beginning. Now, I knew that my words had moved her.

"Give me a minute," Vallon returned, a delayed response. "If you want me to go and ruffle him up _that_ bad… I need to think of what to say. It's not such an easy thing to pull out of nowhere."

He was quiet for a minute. When that minute ended, his stance shifted, yet he remained fixated upon the map, still quiet. When I began to worry that Prince would return from the greenhouse, and the moment would be lost, I gave him a few suggestions to fuel his thoughts.

Finally, huffing like a brute, he marched out the door. I followed. This was something I would not miss for the world.

---

We found the greenhouse empty when we arrived, save for the Infernape who swung through the branches of the Shuca tree at the opposite end, deciding which of the dangling fruits were fit to eat. While we were not the only residents of District Eight, we had managed to return long before any of our neighbors.

I felt relieved that Vallon and Prince would have privacy at this particular moment.

I held my breath as he crossed the grassland, not looking back. He stood and waited at the base of the tree.

"Vallon," Prince called, noticing him and swinging down from the tree to land before him. "What is the matter?"

Vallon stood before Prince, facing him down, saying nothing. I tensed every muscle in my form as the moment of silence lingered.

Until…

_POW!_

Adrenaline filled my bloodstream. Vallon had punched our team leader square in the face!

Prince stumbled backward in shock, smacking his head against the tree trunk. He rested there for a moment, unable to comprehend this betrayal. It was a brutal move from the fist of an exceptionally strong Pokémon, one which Prince never had time to prepare for. Blood emptied quickly from the dent in his muzzle.

"_You accepted a mission you had no intention of even __**trying**__ to complete,_" Vallon roared with all the anger he could muster. _"__**WHY?! **__What are you trying to prove, you flea-ridden human-raised rat?! Was it so hard to tell Lucario you were giving up?! You knew from the start we weren't going to win! What are you?! Is it some kind of a fantasy of yours to drive this team into the ground and bury us alive?"_

Vallon paused, traditionally to let Prince defend himself. This time, Prince said nothing. Blood trickled down his face, and he made no move to wipe it off. He only sat, sprawled against that tree trunk, his chest stiffly rising and falling…

"_Frozen Spring was __**your fault!**_" Vallon continued, his voice becoming gravelly and bestial. "_We lost because of you. Don't try to pin it on any of us! It was __**your**__ doing! It was your fault! Terriak Cave was __**your fault!**__ Stone Edge City was __**your fault!**__ You're the one who brought us here to this godforsaken place. What do you expect? You gave up, that's what happened. You just gave up. You gave up on everybody. You gave up on Alakazam. And Scythe! And Aether! You gave up on Lucario! And now you finally gave up on us. I see now, it was just a matter of time from the beginning. You don't care. You're not a leader anymore."_

Having said this, Vallon lunged forward to seize Prince by the shoulders. But Prince forced his arms against him and resisted, using him for support to stand up. He stood before the crazed Rhydon, standing to his full height, his glowering eyes locked upon him.

"_You are the most pathetic leader I have ever seen of a full-scale resistance team," _Vallon persisted. _"And to think I trusted you… To think I followed all your orders, and in the end, I wasn't important to you—"_

"Vallon," Prince interrupted in the darkest voice I have ever heard come from him, "that is enough."

"Oh, no it isn't," Vallon laughed. "This isn't over until you _account for yourself_, oh dear team leader. _Because I am __**sick!**__ And __**tired!**__ Of sitting around feeling sorry for myself when something slips through the cracks and we end up losing again. I'm __**sick of losing!**__ We __**aren't supposed to lose!**__ Don't you get it?! Losing is for Team Stripes and Team PokéPals and all those teams full of __**children**__. But no, we came here, and suddenly, losing is okay for __**Team Flamewheel**__. Account for __**that**__, dear Prince._"

Prince did not respond. His scowl became grave, just as grave as Vallon's.

"You're going to make up for your mistakes now," Vallon hissed. "And do you know how? I'll tell you how. We all promised to back you up wherever you'd decide to go. And I intend on keeping the promise. That's why _you're going to relieve me from it._ You're going to _disband this team_. Right _now_. You're going to _admit_ this was all a _stupid joke_, and you're going to let us all go, so we can go back to the Gold Division where we _belong_."

"I have no intention of disbanding this team," Prince replied softly, sternly.

_SMACK!_

I winced horribly as I witnessed a second fully-powered punch connect with my Prince's face. I do not understand why he didn't dodge. He stumbled back but did not fall, returning his burning gaze into the Rhydon's eyes, his face even more broken than before. It was difficult to see his face covered in broken bruises as it was.

"But you _will," _Vallon challenged. "Look at yourself, you weak little maggot, your face covered in your own blood. You aren't even standing up to me. What kind of a leader are you now? I bet you couldn't even kill a baby Swinub now. Prince… face it. It's over. We had something going back at the old base, but it's gone. Wave your hand at me and end this farce."

Prince scratched at his face, clearing his eyes from the stream of blood which had trickled down and obscured his vision. He then straightened up once again in the face of the Rhydon, and gave a reply.

"I'm not going to fight you, because I respect you as a Pokémon, as well as a teammate," he said. "That… and the fact that many of the words you say are true. When Legend said that my flame had faltered, he was right. He might have also been right in saying that I have displaced us from what has made us strong. But… No, I will not disband this team. You are wrong in accusing me of having given up. You are always free to leave me, but at the cost of the promise you made me. I won't relieve you of that."

"I see," Vallon said, nodding. "Well, in that case, if you won't back down, you have only one other option. You are going to _lead us_. And you are no leader if you cannot lead us to victory."

"You seem convinced I don't plan on it," Prince replied. "We will win."

"Lies, and empty words!" Vallon shouted. "You stand here and _say_ you will lead us. I want you to _lead us_! Things are going to be just the way they were when we started out, and you are going to _win. At. All. Costs._ Nothing is going to slip through our claws this time, Prince. We've waited too long to rise to the challenge."

And then, I saw the change. It was subtle, a slight shift in the posture, a bow of the head, these tiny little details one would need to be watching for to notice. It was not a drastic change, but it was just a glimmer, a beginning of something.

It was something I recognized, something which I missed. Nostalgia flared within me; Prince began picturing himself in a long-past day, as we stood, surrounded by roaring torches, golden furniture, beauteous red carpets underfoot…

It worked. Though it burned tiny to start out with, we had lit his Ember.

"Fine," he said, speaking authoritatively to Vallon, "If that is what you wish… We will take this mission… as _seriously _as you wish to take it."

"Good," I shouted from across the room, soon closing the distance. "You can start with this issue: you're worried we might not be strong enough at the moment, what with all the cold and all. Fine. But let us do what we always did in the golden division when our number was a problem…"

"What he said," Vallon echoed. "Good idea. Nothing wrong with hiring some help, especially if we need it. Won't prove anything if we fail again…"

Prince looked thoughtful. "You're right," he admitted. "We should. That is an outstanding idea. Fine, then. Let's get some other teams on board. Team Beacon recently had their trade route broken, they'd be free, and they know their way around Snowcrest… Legend, would you talk them into it the next chance you get?"

"Absolutely," I responded, my pride quickly swelling. "They'll be perfect for helping with the townside front when we depart for the dungeon."

"There's someone else we could try," Canniah offered, approaching her Prince. "At the meeting this morning, Naxi was there. He just arrived. And he hasn't taken a task yet…"

…

And so, this is the part I played in the story. This is the part I must account for. I have nothing else to blame it upon but my own talent. I learned the truth from Canniah, and in response, I turned Vallon into my pawn and attacked my Prince while he was weakened.

It was a proud moment for me, seeing a little bit of the old Prince I devoted myself to having come back to life. It was a proud moment for the four of us. It was the beginning. The dawn of a new day.

I would never hesitate to admit that I am a very romantic soul; I do not always see things the way they truly are, but rather the way I wish they might be. Every thought, every feeling, everything that does not make sense must be given meaning, or else I am unnerved. Every moment, every little detail must hold significance. Every heart must be given a purpose.

After all, how else could I claim to see legendary birds from behind closed eyes, or see forks in the timeline itself, while still calling myself sane? It is my nature. It is the perspective on life I have chosen to uphold. It is my chosen role.

But romanticism is not without its flaws. And, if that day was any proof, neither am I.

I saw that fork in the timeline so vividly. I leapt at it. I took hold of it. I made it my own. Of course, a realist would tell you, correctly, that there is a fork in the timeline at every waking moment, and that I simply saw something which I wanted to see, something which I had made up for myself, something which didn't really exist in the first place.

And if it were true after all, if I really had been enlightened at that moment, able to see through the eyes of Dialga the future that lay ahead of me… If I really had been presented with those two paths…

…then I had seized the wrong one.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_With how long it took me to churn this out, you could have probably guessed ahead of time who I went with as the narrator._

_I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to __**Diego Zeyon**__ for his assistance, both intended and unintended, with this chapter. Not only did he help me see that the chapter needed work, but he was also completely responsible for inspiring the entire beginning section which got added in the second revision. All of our chatter about Vulpix gave me a lot of ideas. Thank you!_

_Also, I should mention that he's actually writing a Silver Resistance fanfic at the moment, which I am bursting with eagerness to see finished. I'll gladly point to it when it's done._

_Finally, I should mention something… you might be asking "hey, what's with the poem this time? It has nothing to do with the story! In the poem, the hero is burning with justice, but in the story, Prince doesn't seem to know what he's motivated by!" If you're wondering this, then maybe you're starting to catch on. :)_

_I'll try to rapid-fire the rest of this verse out through the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll get some parts done before Explorers of Sky arrives… which will hopefully just give me more inspiration, rather than suck up all my time. _


	9. Verse 2, Part 2

"It's time to rise, little one."

Albert stirred as the voice of Lapras interrupted his dream. His mind started fading back into reality, but it didn't feel right… The rocky wall which propped his back was too sandy. The soil beneath him was too hard, not damp and comfortable as it should have been. The air was too warm. It took him a moment to realize, for the second morning now, he was not home. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.

Blinking, he glanced around at the cramped little chamber they had stayed in for the night: a large boulder which had been split down the center from decades of freezing water within its cracks, with a couple planks of wood spread across the top to keep the Watchers at bay. It was barely big enough to shelter both of them. Albert again wondered why Lapras was taking so many measures to ensure they would not meet or rest too close to the rest of the caravan—the true rest stop was only a quarter mile upstream.

"It's still dark," Albert noticed. "They aren't leaving already, are they? Can't we just go back to sleep?"

"No, the caravan won't be setting off for another few hours," Lapras said, holding himself tall over the little Snover. "But that's why you have to get up. We spend all day traveling, but we need time to train."

"Training…" Albert murmured. "I can't train now… too tired… Can we eat something?"

"A Pokémon must learn to fight whenever it is necessary, even if they are tired or hungry," Lapras said. "Intelligent foes may take those opportunities to strike. Besides, we cannot be shirking our training now just because we are away from home, not if we want to get you evolved sometime."

_Evolution_. That thought really got Albert's heart moving. Evolving was a very desirable idea for him. As an Abomasnow, he wouldn't let anyone push him around anymore—not Turq, not the Master. If he wanted to live in the Frozen Spring, the Master wouldn't be able to tell him no. He would pulverize anyone who got in his way … he would never have to stiffen up and pretend to be tough anymore, because he _would _be tough…

"How close am I to evolving, Lapras?" Albert asked of him. "Last time, you said it would be four years or more…"

"That was a year ago, little one," Lapras replied. "To answer your question, I do not know, but I think you might be close. Times have changed. Under current circumstances, you are much closer to evolving than you would have otherwise been. Life has thrown you a good deal of stress, which pushes you closer to your transformation. In fact, I have brought along an evolution stone in case I can prepare you before we arrive to the harbor. It's being kept with the caravan."

_An evolution stone_. Albert imagined seeing it. He'd heard of these things, which Pokémon needed to evolve, but he'd never seen one before. He wondered how they worked.

"So… we must make you stronger, and this is the only time we have. So… prepare yourself…"

Albert leapt to his feet in surprise. "Wait," he shouted. "You don't… you don't want me to fight _you_, Lapras? I can't fight you…"

"Do not say that word 'can't' around me, child," Lapras said, repeating a phrase he would always use in class. "There are only two kinds of Pokémon who evolve: those who put their entire strength into something and succeed, and those who put their entire strength into something and fail. Either way, you must put your whole strength into it. Now, prepare yourself…"

Albert grimaced, not believing Lapras was challenging him first thing in the morning, before the sun had even escaped the horizon. His head was still cloudy from weariness, his belly crying out for food. Groaning, he stood his ground, trying to imitate a battle stance.

"Not in here, though," Lapras chuckled. "Not enough room. Come, let's find a good place outside…"

---

The rays of the dawning sun glowed from behind the building wall of clouds to the north-east, the looming snowstorm which Zerferia was sending into Ambera. A soft orange color lit half the sky, the other half still dwelling in darkness, leaving a star still twinkling here and there. A gentle breeze shifted through the air.

The caravan had made good progress since their departure. In only two days, they had traveled almost thirty miles up Cornice River, leaving Frozen Spring far behind. They had arrived to this second rest stop, the Broken Plain, a giant plateau of stones with many fissures in them, some suitable for providing shelter in the night.

Albert emerged from the tiny shelter to find himself on a small stone platform a dozen feet above ground level. Though it was dark, he glanced into the lands beyond and spotted the river many yards away, sparkling in the strange colors cast by the dawn.

"This looks good enough," Lapras said to him, judging the width of the surface. "Now… if I can remember correctly, Albert, last time you trained, you were practicing with your leaves…"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Any good with them?"

"No," Albert confessed. "They aren't very strong…"

"Well, I only helped you learn because you said you wanted an edge against water Pokémon," Lapras said. "I figured it was fair enough, seeing that many water Pokémon lived around the Springs… But, if you would like me to help you gain mastery over something I know well, I will teach you how to use ice."

"Ice…" Albert repeated. "Is it powerful to use ice?"

"Yes," Lapras replied. "There are not many who can defend themselves against ice attacks, especially if you are able to freeze them solid so they cannot move! And, if you become skilled enough, you will even be able to challenge dragons with the power of ice."

_Challenge dragons?_ Albert thought about the possibility of fighting a dragon. He'd never seen one for most of his life, and thought they were only myths. In fact, before he had seen the dragon that served the Infernape, he never knew what they looked like…

"Now, try this," Lapras said. "I have taught you how to focus your attention on the sunlight to let it feed power to your leaves. Now, instead of that, try learning something different: you must learn how to command your body to drop the temperature of the air which surrounds you. This technique is central to all ice attacks."

Albert sighed. Learning to tap into the power of his grass was the most difficult and frustrating part of his training. He hoped that summoning the power of ice would be easier.

"Imagine the cold," Lapras instructed. "Imagine the coldest thing you can. Imagine being trapped in the heart of Zerferia as a snowstorm rages around you. Negative eighty degrees! Temperatures that would kill another Pokémon on contact, freeze their beating heart and frosting over their body in minutes. Imagine the ice breaking underneath you, and sinking into a pit of freezing water…

_That part's not too hard,_ Albert told himself with disdain, remembering how he was chucked into Oracle Lake.

So, he did. Letting his mind wander, which was not all that difficult having just been rustled up from his sleep, Albert's eyes glazed over as he placed himself in an intense tundra of snow, a place so cold and dark that the sun did not shine.

A minute passed, and Albert shook his head.

"I don't think it's working, Lapras," he complained. "I don't feel any different."

"You don't think it's working?" Lapras replied, smirking. "Look… _closer_."

Albert felt something touch his face.

Squinting, he noticed several tiny snowflakes drifting about his head. They were hardly visible, and swirled around like the dust. Albert blinked. He had been so lost in his daydream, he hadn't noticed them; and now, he wondered if he had somehow succeeded in pulling the weather out from inside of his mind and into reality.

"See?" Lapras laughed. "You lowered the temperature of the air around you enough to make snow. That's a good start, but in time, you'll learn that you can even cause a whole snowstorm wherever you go. It can give you an advantage in battle."

Albert reached out a leafy hand, catching one of the snowflakes from the air. It sat for a moment before blowing away in the breeze.

"I always wondered why sometimes it would snow, even if there weren't any clouds," he said. "So it was because of me…"

"Now, when you master that technique, there are many thing you can do with it," Lapras continued. "For example, if you can freeze the air in just the right way…"

Lapras burned his gaze at the little Snover, his eyes concentrating. The air around his head began to sparkle, as if the stars of the night sky had somehow become visible around him. Watching intently, Albert saw how the sparkles grew, soon becoming little crystals of ice levitating with psychic power…

Before he was ready, the crystals expanded into large shards of ice and flew straight at him.

"Aaiiigha!" Albert yelped, diving out of the way.

He wasn't fast enough. Several of the icicles slammed into him, stinging quite a bit, as he tumbled to the side. The rest of them shattered noisily against the rocks.

"I want to learn that!" Albert shouted as he scrambled to his feet. "Teach me!"

"I will," Lapras laughed. "But you aren't quite ready to learn it yet. Your mind and body are not powerful enough. But perhaps someday soon…"

_Yes, someday soon,_ Albert told himself. _This is it. I have Lapras all to myself now. No other students to bother him. He's my personal trainer! And he's going to teach me how to fight so fast that I'll evolve in only a week or two. Yes. Someday soon, I'll be able to stand up for myself…_

The snow, light and sparse as it was, continued to fall around Albert's body. He prepared to spar with his trainer, and though he knew he would probably end up face-down on the ground at the end just like he would with any confrontation with a bully, he knew he had to do what it required to get stronger.

Before Lapras even finished uttering the challenge, Albert lunged at him with the opening attack.

---

Albert couldn't remember much of what happened. The next thing he knew, he was laying face-up on Lapras' back, staring at the late-morning sky. The hypnotizing sound of flowing water came from every direction… they were already back on their way upstream.

"Good morning, again," Lapras greeted, eyeing the little Snover.

"What happened…?" Albert groaned, rubbing his forehead. "I have a headache…"

"Well, to put it lightly, you tried very hard," Lapras said indifferently. "And I have to congratulate you on your enormous effort. But next time, we must learn to _pace_ ourselves so that we do not pass out from fatigue after eighty seconds of battle."

"I… passed out?" Albert repeated. "Well… what did you expect, Lapras? You woke me up before the sun rose and asked me to fight you. I was still tired…"

"Of course," Lapras said. "Most every Pokémon remains tired after a long rest, especially under such stress as being forced from our homes, where rest does little to replenish your strength. I never expected you to perform well."

"But you told me to give my full heart," Albert whined. "That's what I did."

"You don't know what it means to give your full heart, then," Lapras spoke. "It doesn't mean to just hastily charge after your opponent and keep getting up when you're knocked down. Because no matter your perseverance, you will not always be able to get up after being knocked down. Giving your whole heart doesn't mean simply standing up to whatever foe challenges you, because there will always be foes who can shatter you under their feet without trying. Winning is not always about trying your hardest, little one, it is also about trying your _smartest_. Find your own weaknesses, and learn to work around them. In this case, you should have acted carefully and conserved your energy instead of plowing into me. Pace yourself when you are tired. Let this be a lesson to you."

Albert sighed. He could never win. Once again, the prospect of evolution seemed just beyond his reach.

He thought about the words for a moment, wondering if he had been foolish to just stand up to Turq so many times in the past. In doing so, he thought he was becoming stronger each time, more respectable, more feared by him… But in the end, he'd just gotten beat up, having proven nothing as a result.

And, to be honest with himself, he wasn't really getting much better at fighting against the Wartortle. Even his leaf attacks were useless if they were so weak. A thought occurred to him: maybe there was something he wasn't understanding.

"How does evolution work, anyway?" Albert wondered out loud.

"It's very simple," Lapras said. "As a Pokémon grows, they will encounter difficulty in their lives, such as battles which must be fought, or run from. Tunnels to dig, skies to fly, prey to hunt and capture… the lifestyle of every Pokémon is different, but we all have our challenges to face. Our strength grows to adapt to these challenges, to give us power in battle, or endurance to run, or the ability to do whatever else we find we must do in life. But for some Pokémon, there will come a time when they find that the strength of their body isn't enough for them anymore, and so it will undergo a change to allow them to continue growing stronger. That's evolution."

"But you don't have to evolve," Albert said. "I know some Pokémon can keep from changing. Like Opal."

"That's true," Lapras hummed, remembering the little Marill he had trained. "Yes, you can stop the change if you so desire, saving it for later. There are certain special advantages to that. But, it is a painful and unnatural thing to do to yourself. Opal got a bad migraine every time she stopped the change, enough that she dearly regretted the decision every single time she did so. But it goes to show the true nature of evolution: it gets triggered by your body's own perception of itself and its surroundings. Its roots are in your subconscious."

"Then… what about the evolution stones, then?" Albert asked. "Why do we need them if we can evolve just by getting stronger? And how come wild Pokémon don't need them?"

"That's perhaps the most interesting part," Lapras said. "See, there is a big difference between a wild Pokémon and a civilized Pokémon such as you and I. We can communicate intelligently with one another, we can study the world around us, we can plan for our futures. We can even build houses and live in our own cities like the humans do. When we encounter stress in our lives, what do we do? We explain it away logically, or we deal with it effectively, or we shift our perspective in order to tell ourselves it isn't too bad a situation. Or perhaps we call upon our many companions to assist us. Either way, we have suppressed all of our basic instincts in favor of higher thinking. We have also suppressed our need to evolve. Your subconscious is convinced evolution is completely unnecessary and has buried it so far down that you might never reach it no matter what circumstances you find yourself in."

"I had no idea!" Albert exclaimed. "So, being civilized is actually harmful in some way… That's what the stones are for?"

"Exactly," Lapras continued. "The more civilized a Pokémon is, the harder it will be for them to evolve on their own. Now, like Opal, there are some civilized Pokémon that have managed the change on their own, but for the rest of us, the stones produce some kind of radiation that wakes up our basic instincts and helps trigger the change. But you still need to be ready for the change in the first place. If an Eevee wants to become Umbreon, they still need to have a soaring heart amidst the darkness of night. An Onix needs a metal deposit to fuse with their body. And you, little Snover, must reach a very steep threshold of strength before the stone will be of any use to you."

_No wonder Turq evolved first in our class,_ Albert mused. _He's practically a feral!_

So, Albert realized, evolution would not be easy in any sense. He would need to train, exercise, and push himself until his body would become more powerful than nature intended it to be in the first place. Brute determination wouldn't accomplish this. As Lapras had said, it would take not only discipline, but focus.

_Abomasnow are rare,_ Albert remembered. _Not very many reach evolution, even ferals…_

After Lapras said nothing more for a few moments, Albert grew tired of the subject. His training was over for the day, and any way he imagined it, it felt daunting to him. Now, it was time to just sit and watch the view, pass the time, and try to take his mind off the still-aching feeling of homesickness as best as possible.

Repositioning himself among the knots on Lapras' shell, Albert ignored the pleasant sight of the countryside and turned his attention back to the stream below, curious to see if anything lived down there.


	10. Verse 2, Part 3

"She has one hour. One hour, I say," the Smeargle grunted. "If she's not back in one hour, we leave, and she'll just have to catch up. I've had it with this place. Had it."

The bags were all packed, the logbooks were written and closed, and the evidence was dealt with. Damage control was done. The survivors were on their way to a place of refuge, a harbor town at the western coast. It was finally time for the last remaining members of Team Flamewheel to disband from their hidden little abode and return to the Emerald Division, leaving this disaster behind them.

But as dawn turned to morning, and morning threatened to become afternoon, the seventh member of the team had failed to return.

Kabir let out his frustration on his journal, scribbling notes and pictures upon it to help pass the time. Tangrind seated himself by the windowless door and occupied himself with staring into space, awaiting the knock he would have to answer. A small fire burned faintly in the corner, but it did little to help keep out the cold.

The weather had turned harsh overnight. Snow fell in curtains, wind whipped up thick clouds of powder. Navigation was going to be difficult on the long road home home. Tangrind hoped that Azel had not fallen prey to the storm, forced out of the air to freeze and die under some mound of ice. Though she was a powerful Pokémon, he knew she was extremely sensitive to the cold. It was her bane. No, they could not leave without her, not in this weather. They needed her to help carry the supplies. And she needed them for strength, if it would begin to get difficult for her to fly.

"How do you think Prince is taking this?" Tangrind wondered. "Wonder if he's changed at all from this…"

"Granted we are still part of the division when Lucario is through with him, knowing him, I would assume he's already taken a new task to help cover up the scar of the previous," Kabir ranted, trying to stay focused on a figure he was sketching in his journal. "Probably the most ambitious project he could have gotten his grubby fingers on."

"Something must give…" Tangrind muttered. "I don't know what, but something is going to have to give…"

The door rattled from the force of a strong gust. Tangrind shivered in anticipation of the day's travel.

"Blasted technique…" Kabir spurted at random, slamming his fist on the desk and scribbling across patterns he had traced. "There is no logical way this works, none."

"Which move are you trying to learn this time?" Tangrind asked absently.

"Leech Seed, that blasted technique," Kabir said. "I've tried for months to copy it, but I have yet to understand how it works. Such a trivial move for grass-type Pokémon to learn, yet it defies all laws of physics. How is the energy transferred back to the user? Is it converted to light energy in order to travel through the air? Gnnfhh. I would love to make use of it myself, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot find its structure…"

Tangrind grunted in response. Being a Smeargle, Kabir possessed the ability to learn the techniques of all other Pokémon through his artistic talent. He was always scribbling into his journal at whatever chance he got, trying to "sketch" enemy attack patterns to comprehend how they worked. Tangrind had no idea how someone could manage to copy a technique just by plotting charts and drawing patterns representing the attack, but he figured there were far too many greater mysteries in the world of Pokémon… such as, apparently, the way Leech Seed worked.

There was a knock at the door.

Tangrind winced. He almost had to wonder if it had been the wind again. Knowing Azel, he expected an enraged pounding, demanding to be let in from the cold. It would not have even surprised him if Azel knocked over the door on her own. But no, this sound had been quiet. Polite, almost. Hesitant.

He waited a moment to answer the door to see if the sound would happen again.

"Well, what's the holdeup? Let her in, by the blazes," Kabir said, not taking his eyes off his drawing. "It's about time…"

Doing as he was told, Tangrind stood himself. His instincts cried out a warning, telling him not to act right away. Something was wrong. If this was Azel, he wondered if her spirit had been crushed by the cold. He feared meeting her as a broken wreck of a Pokémon.

Nevertheless, he clutched the handle in his claws, flipped the lock, and yanked upon the large door, cringing as the merciless draft began seeping inside the building and sweeping past his face…

A Pokémon stood at the door, but it was not Azel. He blinked, trying to identify it in the blur of snow…

It was red.

_NO!!!_

_NO!!!! NO!!!!_

_A red blur in the snow…_

_The image… fading… fading as it drifted farther away… Out of his reach…_

_He had tried to cut off the escape route… to trap her, but he hadn't known in time what had happened… He had not been at his station… And the messenger did not get to him in time…_

_And now it was too late… She was lost… the red blur in the snow… it became nothing…_

_It was lost… gone…_

_NO!!!_

Tingrind's eyes widened.

-_SMACK-_

Possessed with blind rage, Tangrind lunged at the cold, defenseless Combusken which now stood at their doorstep. He slammed her in the side, knocking her face-down into the snowdrift beneath…

"_You…"_ the Heracross seethed, pinning her body down underneath his foot. "_You_… You ruined… _everything!_ What are you doing here now? What do you think you are?! Give me one good reason, _**one good reason**_**,** I shouldn't tear out your throat now, you miserable… you miserable, treacherous pile of mucus…"

"Is there a problem, Tangrind?" Kabir asked from indoors, barely audible over the wind.

The Heracross pressed harder, eliciting a gasp of pain from his captive. He bent down and glared into her eyes, hanging his pointed claws in front of her face.

"Answer me…" he growled. "Answer me!"

The Combusken didn't squirm for freedom. She wasn't surprised— She hadn't exactly expected to be welcomed with open arms. They had every right to treat her like scum. Instead, she tried to lift her beak from the snow to reply.

"I…" she gasped out. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, is that it?" Tangrind hissed. "What does that mean, huh? You could never comprehend what it means to be sorry for what you did."

"What's the problem this time?" Kabir shouted.

"I…" the Combusken struggled to say. "I…"

"_What _did you hope to prove with your little stunt, _bird?_" Tangrind growled loudly over the wind. "You proud of leading all those Pokémon to those deaths, huh, are you? _Are you_, bird? _Talk!!_"

"_Tangrind!_" Kabir shouted.

The Heracross paused. Kabir stood in the doorway, looking very displeased at the scene before his eyes. He glanced down at the Combusken, still pinned safely beneath him.

"It's her, Kabir," Tangrind reported. "It's the traitor, right here!"

"Then for the love of Arceus, Kabir, release her at once!" Kabir ordered.

"What, so she can betray us now?" Tangrind returned bitterly.

"It seems to me that she already _has_," Kabir stated. "So either she takes us to be stupid, or she wouldn't be trying to double-cross us again after going through the trouble the first time! By the blazes, get your talon off her neck and let her speak for herself."

Tangrind hesitated again. He wanted to kill her on the spot for what she had done. She had no right to be alive after causing such a tragedy to an entire village. But he focused and stopped himself from making any further threats to her. Instead, he lifted his weight from her back, grabbed her harshly by the arms, and yanked her up to her feet.

The Combusken was shivering cold, her face and most of her body covered in snow. She said nothing, staring only at the Smeargle with vicious eyes.

"Well, then," Kabir said condescendingly to her. "What have you got to say for yourself, Quickfoot?"

Her reply was most immediate. "I w-want to join you," she asserted powerfully, her voice quivering from the cold.

"Join us?" Tangrind echoed in disgust, still holding on tightly to her arm. "And risk having you sic the Master onto our entire base, like you did with the poor Ice Pokémon back there?"

"I'm afraid my partner's feelings are quite justified, Quickfoot." Kabir said. "You are not the most trustworthy Pokémon the face of the earth at the moment. Why should we trust you, hmm?"

"Don't call me that," the Combusken growled. "M-my name is Caron. I was… I was in the Master's camp, after they t-took over the town… they promised me I could join them if I t-t-told them your weaknesses. They were lying. They were gonna kill me."

Kabir said nothing, only exchanging a glance with his Heracross partner. A strong blast of wind swept over them, nearly knocking Tangrind from his feet.

"I have to get b-back at them," Caron pleaded. "I don't have a home to go to anymore. It's the only thing I have left."

"I see," Kabir said thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "I see, I see. So you understand now what it is like to be a tool."

"Y-yes," Caron replied.

"You understand treachery, from both ends," Kabir continued. "There's this code in the resistance, which states that Pokémon who have been harmed or personally betrayed by the Master will be trustworthy allies in the fight against him. If what you are saying is true, then I will take you into our base and let our leader decide what to do with you."

"Wait, wait! How can you be so quick to forgive her transgressions?" Tangrind cried. "Will we just forget all the deaths she caused, pretend like they never happened, and send her into the base as any other recruit? You can't do that with a clean heart?"

Kabir crossed his arms. "In that case, I suppose I need not remind you of a Pokémon by the name of _Adron the Terrible_, and what ultimately became of him? How many innocent Pokémon do you think _he_ slaughtered in his time, hmm?"

Hearing the words, Tangrind loosened his grip on the Combusken's arm. He was still furious, but now he was confused. Yes… there had been a day, long ago, when a worn and weary Scyther stood on the doorstep of the Golden Division, with nothing to his name but a lifetime of skill and experience which he claimed did not rightfully belong to him. He became one of the greatest assets of all the resistance, all in the name of undoing the harm he had caused to the land…

Tangrind glared at the Pokémon he detained. Could she really claim to hold a candle to that legacy? Or would this poor, weak little girl only be a mockery of it?

"Uh…" Caron said weakly. "I… think… I'm smoldering now."

Kabir reeled in shock. "By the blazes, get her inside, now!" he shouted. "I'll try to revive the fireplace. Get her out of the cold! Come on! Come!"

Whatever the case, Tangrind decided that he would save her life for now. He quickly ushered her towards the door to their dwelling…

But then, a sound came from the storm, unlike anything the weather alone would produce. It was a mighty roar that could strike fear into the heart of any Pokémon in a mile's radius. The air cracked loudly as a pair of wings resisted the force of the blizzard and tore through the relentless wind.

A powerful tremor shook the ground as a massive blue dragon crashed down onto the land. A wave of snow exploded from the collision to signal her arrival.

She pranced forward, an evil, mischievous grin upon her face as she looked over the three Pokémon which stood there.

"Finally!" Kabir cried in frustration at the Salamance. "Azel, what in the name of Arceus made you take so long?!"

"What do you _think_?" Azel roared in reply. "I made up my mind that I would spend the rest of my life tracking that little brat to the end of the earth if I had to. And now… she's _mine!_ She's finally mine!"

Azel slithered forward through the snow, holding her head proudly above the fowl which managed to evade her for so long. She practically purred in delight at seeing her finally within reach.

"She's going to join the resistance," Kabir told her. "The Master tricked her into doing what she did, and now she wants revenge. Per her request, I've decided we should help keep her alive and bring her back with us."

"Oh…" Azel said, backing slightly away from the Combusken. "Is that so? Well… I won't disapprove. I think the suffering of serving under Lucario would be enough to atone for her actions ten times over. Actually, I don't think I could have picked a better place in the whole world for her. Though… my stomach was a close second."

The four Pokémon gathered inside of the house and shut the door tightly behind them, giving their unexpected newcomer a chance to warm herself before setting on their journey back home.


	11. Verse 2, Part 4

Lily's eyelids were still open, albeit a little droopily, to witness the first glow of the morning sun seep into the sky. From the narrow foyer of the Bayleef's den, she watched as the hoard of ghosts shriveled and dissipated into nothingness, retreating back into some alternate dimension until the night would come again.

Though she had blinked out of consciousness a few moments now and then, she'd stayed up all night wondering about this unexpected army of ghost Pokémon. To be honest, they disturbed her to the core, almost dashing her hopes that Ambera would be a good place to live. But, after thinking about it a little bit, she determined that it really wasn't all that bad. For one thing, Chikorita were weakest during the night without the sunlight to feed them strength, so she figured that exploring after dusk was a loss not to be mourned. For another, she always found it hard to force herself to sleep on time, often sleeping in until midday… but no longer. Ambera would help to discipline her into a strong and healthy Chikorita, so she could take on the most challenging difficulties. In the end, she found herself welcoming the presence of the ghosts—they meant that her new home was full of mystery and danger, just as she hoped it would be.

She wanted that conviction to stay with her for as long as possible.

But as the sun slowly crept up into the sky, Ambera once more became something beautiful. Without the twisted ghosts defiling the countryside, the view was a gorgeous depiction of an endless, boundless wilderness filled with life. Some birds called to one another, their screeching cries so loud they echoed all the way from the forest she had passed through on the road to Regigas Mounds. Some Pokémon scampered across the grass chasing one another or searching underfoot for tiny things to eat. It made her smile.

At last, she closed her eyes and drifted contently into her dreams.

---

Several hours later, a voice called her back to consciousness.

"Aww, poor thing," the Bayleef's voice sang. "You spent all night there… Sleep well, at least?"

"Mostly, yeah," Lily lied.

Sighing, the groggy little Chikorita took in the view of the Regigas Mounds one more time, the rolling ocean of hills now bathed in sunlight. Now, more than ever, they called to her…

"Well, honey, the night's over now. The world is yours," Mary said gently. "What do you think you're going to do now?"

"Probably should go find a job," Lily said. "If I'm going to need a place to stay every night, I've got to afford it… Hey, Mary?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," Lily said sincerely. "For letting me stay here, I mean. If it wasn't for you, I probably would have gotten myself killed on my first day in Ambera. Thanks for protecting me from the ghosts."

"Aw, it's no big deal, honey," Mary said. "What's a Pokémon who doesn't help out someone in need? You're welcome here as long as you want to stay, you know."

"Heh, thanks, but I really think I want to go and see the world," Lily said. "I'll find somewhere I can be…"

"Well, I'm not going to stop you," Mary said. "But hey, why not you and I get something to eat, and then I'll walk you into town? I know this city up north, I'm positive there'd be some explorers' guild there you could join…"

---

So, come high noon, Lily and Mary were well on their way northward to a place Mary called Great Crystal City.

As Lily jogged down Route Eight thirty-four, taking in every last bit of the scenery, she found herself stunned by the sheer diversity of the landscape in only a localized area. To the north, Regigas Mounds dissolved into a swampy grassland. Dozens of lakes covered the plain, each surrounded by stalks of dark-blue plants, as far as she could see. Yanma buzzed around the cattails, Politoed and Poliwag hopped in and out of the lakes, and Lily-pads on the surface of the water came alive right before Lily's eyes, revealing the heads of strange Pokémon underneath them as they peered above the surface of the water.

To the east, a cloud of vivid green covered the horizon. Carver's Domain, Mary had called it. The largest jungle in the world. Straining her ears, she thought she could catch the sound of strange Pokémon cries rising from the far-off habitat.

The road continued northward. After an hour or two of walking, the landscape had changed yet again, turning dry and rocky. The ground became a stretch of yellow dirt and sand, littered only with gray boulders. Route eight thirty-four continued across a rocky ridge which rose a dozen feet above this barren plain. As Lily traversed it, she gazed down at the large chunks of scattered rock, and nearly jumped a foot in the air in surprise as one of them moved, opening a massive mouth to yawn and emitting a moaning sigh. The strange Pokémon was half-covered in sand, almost looking as though sand was spilling from the dark shell Pokémon's back.

Though Lily's eyes sparkled at every little thing she saw, she dared not stray from the path this time. She knew now why Mary had been in such a hurry the other evening. All of Ambera was on a schedule.

_This is all so weird,_ Lily told herself, gazing down at the sandy pit. _It doesn't seem natural for so many types of Pokémon to live so close to each other. I wonder if Pokémon here altered their environment to suit them…_

"So, what's this place we're heading to?" Lily asked her traveling companion. "Great Crystal City. Have you ever been there?"

"A few times," Mary replied. "It's a pretty place. But it's known for being one of the wealthiest cities in Ambera."

"Oh…" Lily said with concern. "Then will I be able to live there? I don't have a single coin to my name at the moment… Even my family paid for the voyage here."

"Would you like to know _why_ Great Crystal City is so wealthy?" Mary hummed. "Because of the treasure hunters who live there."

"Treasure hunters?" Lily cried. "So… there's actually real explorers' guilds there?"

"Oh, you'd better believe it," Mary said, smiling warmly. "Though they aren't the greatest in the world, or anything. Everybody knows the greatest exploration guilds are in Salamance Valley way down in the far south. But since it'd take you a year just to walk there, I figure you'd rather go somewhere closer for now. Great Crystal City is a fine place on its own."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily said. "First, I'll just work on getting my career started, I guess. Then I can think about moving up the ladder."

_But wow, to be a professional treasure hunter…_ Lily said to herself, scanning the sandy mounds below as if she expected diamonds to be buried somewhere within them. _That seriously has to be the best job in the world! But… will any of them let me in? Maybe just as an apprentice for starters? Oh, but if treasure hunting is so lucrative, wouldn't everyone want to get into the guilds at once? What if there's no room for me? Or they think I'm too weak? Oh, I'll show them… Somehow, I'll get them to accept me…_

"Excuse us, travelers…"

Lily blinked out from her daze to see that she was blocking the way of a couple of Pokémon who were heading back the way they came. A Sandshrew and a Phanpy, both with tiny travel packs strapped to themselves, waited patiently for her to stop gawking at the scenery and move aside.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lily yelped, giving them room. "Hey, um… I couldn't help but notice those bags… you wouldn't happen to be explorers, would you?"

"Hah," the Sandshrew coughed. "Hah hah… hah…"

The shrew made no further reply, scampering quickly down the road with the Phanpy close behind.

Lily frowned.

"Humph, how rude of them," Mary commented. "Some Pokémon just don't know how to be nice to little girls…"

It was easy enough to disregard the Sandshrew, but Lily found herself with some sort of nagging that she couldn't seem to shake. She tried to figure out what it was, and why it had been sparked by seeing the other travelers…

"Hey, um… I've been wondering," Lily said meekly. "If there are so many Pokémon here in this country… how come we haven't seen any other travelers today besides those guys? This road has been practically empty the whole way."

"Well… there are a number of reasons…" Mary said, though hesitantly, as if she regretted the subject. "Lots of Pokémon just don't like traveling. They find it safer just to stay in one place all their lives. And… well… remember how back at the docks, that road was closed? Well… I'd bet that might have something to do with it…"

"I don't think I understand," Lily muttered. "Why… why was the road closed in the first place? Why is it so bad to ask about?"

"Don't worry yourself about it, Lily," Mary replied, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Just… when they close a road, don't go down that road. There's nothing more you really need to know. You'll… be happier that way. Trust me."

---

Though it continued to bother her that Mary was keeping a secret from her, Lily forgot all about it the moment she caught sight of Great Crystal City.

It was an aptly-named place: in the center of the city, jutting out of the very earth, was a giant blue crystal! It was easily the most beautiful sight Lily had ever glimpsed at. It was as tall as a skyscraper, and had dozens of huge protrusions at the base like tree branches. The sunlight struck it and refracted in all directions, making it difficult to gaze directly into, and sending huge flecks of blue, red, and yellow light all across the city as if a giant stained-glass window was covering the sky.

Lily's mouth hung open as she gazed at the spectacle.

"Here we are," Mary reported. "Great Crystal City! See that crystal in the center?"

"How could I _not?_" Lily replied, unable to tear her eyes away from it.

"Legend has it that a little Sandshrew woke Jirachi somewhere in this vicinity," Mary explained. "They say it was a poor soul, never able to have anything it wanted, so it wished for the world's biggest, most beautiful, most valuable crystal. And it wished that Jirachi make the crystal so that nobody would ever be able to steal it from him."

"I'd say Jirachi delivered," Lily replied, completely incredulous. "What's the point of even treasure hunting if_ this_ is your city?"

The closer she got to the city, the more surreal it looked, as though she were watching the whole area through a crystal ball. The road was paved with a pattern of smooth black pebbles atop platforms of hardened gray sand. The strange-looking buildings which lined the streets were made of metal, most of which had a miniature crystal as part of their architecture. Lily wondered if the small crystals had been chipped off the larger one. She glanced over a nearby building, which had to have been a shopping center, with a glowing red crystal positioned atop the half-circle entryway. Another building, which looked like a castle, had a crystal poised at the top of a long steel spire. Lily couldn't tell if the crystals were glowing with power, or if they just caught the light cast from the big one.

The whole city seemed like a dream. Lily's mind kept telling her it wasn't real. Yet, the Pokémon which walked the streets kept about their business as though their city was as normal as could be. Nobody stopped to gaze at the crystal, which was loathe to even let go of Lily's attention.

"Well, this is the place!" Mary said. "There are a bunch of guilds here. I'm sure you'll be able to find one you could work with!"

"I… I hope so…" Lily said absentmindedly.

"Aww, hold your head up!" Mary sang. "Nobody in their right mind is going to turn down such a free-spirited adventurer like you! I bet you'll get any job you want!"

"Thanks," Lily muttered, half-sincerely. "I guess you're right. I should just start trying…"

Mary frowned, sensing that the little Chikorita was beginning to feel anxious. She knew that Lily wanted to go wander off on her own.

"Hey, I just remembered," Mary said suddenly. "I have a friend who lives here. I should go tell them all about my trip to the human countries. Think you'll be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Lily answered.

"You sure, now?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Lily said again, glancing around at all the strange buildings and constructs she could visit.

"Well, in that case, meet me at the north side of the crystal at sundown, and I'll convince my friend to let us stay for the night," Mary told her, taking her leave. "I'll go back home in the morning. After that… I guess you'll be on your own."

---

Lily didn't waste a single minute before scampering down the streets and gawking at all the sights. The deeper into the city she got, the _weirder_ the buildings were, taking shapes that no human in their right mind would ever construct. Some were a mess of appendages with crystal shards hanging from them by chains, others were open-ended with no doors, windows, or walls, only composed of huge piles of stone and metal propped up on stilts or pillars. Many were even built in the very likeness of certain Pokémon species with windows where the eyes should be, most of which she didn't recognize, just like the Pokémon which surrounded her on the street. Every moment, some strange new life-form approached her, many of which defied all recognition or even the laws of physics…

"Excuse me…" Lily randomly called out to a passer-by which looked like a grass-type. "What… uh… what kind of Pokémon are you?"

The green ball-shaped Pokémon hesitated in mid-stride, coming to a halt upon his unsteady cone-shaped legs, supporting itself with its thick blunt arms…

"_Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…_ Cacnea?" it replied, giving Lily a look like she was crazy.

Lily tried to thank the strange Pokémon, but it had already hobbled off in a hurry, as if Lily had wasted a precious moment of its time. She scowled, shirking back from the impending crowd for a moment. Were all Pokémon of Ambera this rude? No, no they weren't… Marita was kindhearted enough. Surely there were other friendly Pokémon. In fact, she determined, it was probably just her ignorance and how she kept asking inane questions; she was new here, but she couldn't expect the world to accommodate that. She would have to learn the laws of the land, one way or another.

She kept up with the crowd for a while, not really knowing where to go. Eventually, she spotted a business establishment open to the public, and decided to wander inside.

It was a very homely place, with walls made of a dark finished wood and the floor paved with something like decorative linoleum. Colorful but odd sculptures lined the walls, and structures which vaguely resembled tables were scattered throughout the room. To Lily's disappointment, though, the place did not offer refuge from the disorienting glare of the great crystal: the ceiling was lined with small gems, the light sources somewhere above them, casting the whole place into a glittering cacophony of colors. She sighed, figuring she'd get used to the "crystal" theme eventually.

The establishment was quite active. Many groups of Pokémon were positioned at the tables, enjoying noisy conversations with one another. At the front, a weird brown rabbit-like Pokémon attended to the guests at the counter. Upon closer inspection, it was less like a rabbit than Lily expected. Its body was covered in colorful blotches, though Lily figured most were cast by the ceiling but couldn't tell which. Its small, black, beady eyes were hidden at the center of crazy facial markings. It seemed to like teetering on one foot, and then the other, rather than just standing still.

"Hey, what's your fancy today, little 'rita?" it called to her in a friendly manner, making her realize she was standing just shy of the business counter.

"Uh… I don't know if I want anything," Lily confessed. "I'm… I'm new here…"

"Oh, well, in that case, I'm Spinda, and welcome to my world-famous café of Great Crystal City!" it cheered. "Family owned and operated for five generations! We specialize in making exotic smoothies and other drinks from all sorts of fruits and berries! And if there's something we don't have, bring it in! Care for a wonderful apple juice cocktail as a free sample?"

"Sure! I guess…" Lily answered curiously.

Jumping to action, Spinda stumbled over to the far counter, picking a big green apple and several smaller berries, and jamming them all into some sort of juicing container. It amazed her at how the Pokémon looked at every moment like it was about to trip over its legs and fall flat on its face, yet it always regained its control at the last possible moment. Before she knew it, the Spinda was carrying a tall glass of a green, fizzing liquid back over to the counter. Even while carrying the drink, the Pokémon continued its abnormal habit of avoiding its center of gravity as much as possible. Lily expected the concoction to go crashing to the floor at any moment, but not a drip sloshed from the rim despite the glass being filled to the very top. Lily was dumbstruck at the Pokémon's mastery of balance.

"And it's all done!" the Spinda announced. "Hey! That'll be three-seventy five Poké!"

"Hey! Wait!" Lily cried in surprise. "I thought you said it was free!"

"No I didn't!" the Spinda insisted. "Why would I say that? That's silly! Wait… maybe I did? I can't remember! I'm always saying things I don't mean to say…"

"So… uh…" Lily said oddly. "I don't have any money…"

"Well, in that case, just take it, as a free sample!" Spinda decided. "If you like it, come back sometime! Just leave the glass on the table when you're done. Enjoy!"

Extending her vines, Lily ever-so-carefully took the overfilled glass and carried it to the nearest empty table, trying her best not to spill it too much.

Propping herself up on a lumpy seat cushion, Lily leaned on the table and reached her mouth for the straw which Spinda had included. She eagerly took a sip. The fizziness assaulted her mouth first thing. After the surprise faded, she found that the drink had a very delicate sweetness which combined with a unique bitterness to form a satisfyingly mature flavor. She happily drank more.

"Like it?" a deep voice asked. "Next time, try ordering the special Cheri berry shake. The flavor is absolutely out of this world."

Lily jumped back into her seat, narrowly avoiding knocking her beverage clear across the table. Two seats away from her, there sat another Pokémon she hadn't even noticed. It was a feline of some sort, with a thick black mane and a dark blue coat. It had poised itself in the shadow so well that it had escaped Lily's attention as she focused on the apple soda. In front of this Pokémon was a glass similar to hers, this one filled with a thick, dark-red liquid that could have been blood for all she knew. The Pokémon sipped at his straw and glared at her curiously.

"Oh, sorry if I startled you," the Pokémon said, leaning back into its seat. "Almost had to buy you another drink, there."

"Ah, it's alright," Lily sighed. "Didn't notice you there at all. Heh. By the way, if you don't mind me asking… what are you? What kind of Pokémon are you?"

"Luxio," it shrugged. "Evolved from Shinx, someday into a Luxray. Friend of lightning. We're common in these parts. So… you're new here, I heard you say?"

"Yeah," Lily said, trying to make herself comfortable. "New to Ambera, actually. Just arrived yesterday. Never heard of half these Pokémon in my life…"

"Hmm, interesting," the Luxio said, leaning in to drink from his glass again. "What brings you to Ambera?"

"Well, to be totally honest, it seemed like it'd be fun," Lily admitted. "Adventure and all that. I'm going to see if I can be an explorer."

"Mmm. Good thing you came here," the Luxio said after swallowing his sip. "I think there are five whole explorers' guilds who live here in Crystal City. Though, I couldn't tell you how many are off on expeditions right now. You could try checking out the Golems, right down the road from here. Take a left, go all the way down Shimmering Ruby Street, and it's right there on the corner. Then there's the Evergreens. They're all the way on the other end of the city past the crystal park on Clear Diamond Street. Those are the guilds I pass by sometimes. I don't know about the other guilds. City's big. "

Lily couldn't help but smile at having found another kind Pokémon. "Thanks," she said to him, keeping his directions in mind. "I'll probably check those places out later today."

"Ah, don't mention it," the Luxio shrugged again. "The least I could do. But I'll tell you what, you've got some guts wanting to go into exploration in this place. It's not exactly a job everybody's dying to get into around here…"

Lily blinked. It wasn't something she was expecting to hear. "Oh… really?" she replied. "Why's that?"

"Well… it's a dangerous job," the Luxio said. "I mean, _dangerous_ dangerous. Lot of wild Pokémon in Ambera to knock you down. And the mystery dungeons. And the Watchers at night and all. Yeah, I hear there were a lot more explorers around here before they came around… now, practically nobody sees it worth the risk."

"Hah, the danger's not a problem. I like danger!" Lily forced a laugh, acting brave for the fun of it. "Just means I have to get stronger!"

"Hmm… I like your attitude," the Luxio said after another sip of his shake. "You've got a real heart. Hmm… But that's still not the _real_ reason exploring's so dangerous, you know…"

"Oh…" Lily said again, her smile dashed. "Well… what is it, then?"

"You mean you don't know." the Luxio said with some surprise. "Really. You don't know?"

"Don't know what?!"

"You came to Ambera… and nobody told you about the Master. That's… interesting. Though… I guess I can understand why…"

Lily grimaced. Something about the way he said it sent a tiny chill down her back. "So… what's the Master?" she pleaded.

"Hmm…" the Luxio sighed. "The Master is the king of Ambera. He makes all the laws around here and his Pokémon enforce them. Helps to keep some balance to the chaos, I guess. That's about all you really need to know. Let him do whatever he wants, don't get in his way, and… well, what you don't know can't hurt you… … … Are you going to drink that?"

A little confused at the Luxio's words, Lily leapt back up to her straw to take another drink in response to his question. It didn't nearly taste as good as the first sip, but there was no way she was going to waste the freebie.

"You should come here again sometime," the Luxio said with a smirk. "Tell me about your adventures. I'm… well, I do some tough work myself, but I come here every day to unwind. I'd like to hear what it's like for a new Pokémon to grow into Ambera."

"Heh… maybe I will," Lily said, glancing around the café.

_But first,_ she told herself,_ I've got to get some money…_

---

After finishing her whole cocktail and exchanging some smalltalk with the kindhearted and laid-back feline Pokémon, Lily set off down the road in the direction of the first exploration guild the Luxio told her about. Shimmering Ruby Street was a very long road. She tried to ignore the multitude of stores and facilities lining both sides of the street and the Pokémon which flocked to them; if she got distracted again, it would be nightfall before she knew it. She had to jump in and get this out of the way.

Butterflies gathered in her stomach as she approached the end of the road, anticipating the exploration guild. Would they consider her? Or would they brush her off as a weak little child? She took comfort in remembering the Luxio's words that aspiring explorers were rather rare, and hoped the guild would leap at the opportunity to accept her into their ranks and train her.

_I'm not a child, either,_ she also told herself. _I can fight when I have to. I'll show them what I'm really made of. Yeah… they won't turn me down._

At last, Lily found herself standing before the guild's base entrance. It was a rather large, wide staircase leading down into the ground, some crackling torches hanging from the walls. Pinned to the far side of the trapdoor was a sign written in the universal Pokémon footprint script which Lily had seen a couple times back at home, but wasn't quite an expert at reading. Squinting at it, she eventually managed to make out the meaning:

_**The Iron Golems**__  
Explorers of Earth  
Keepers of Wealth and Beauty  
Fortitude Unrivaled_

_Sounds like a really serious group,_ Lily thought. _Guess I'll go ahead and inquire…_

Breathing a nervous sigh, Lily collected herself and hobbled her way down the marble staircase.

The cave was a little bit creepy. It was totally lightless, save for the flickering torches on the walls here and there, most of which had long since burned out. The ground was paved with the same scratchy, unpolished marble, making the place feel unkempt and a little unstable…

Eventually, Lily found herself faced with a giant steel door with no handles in sight. She figured that now was the time she would have to make her presence known.

"Hel-_lo…?_" Lily called, hearing the sound of her voice echo back through the tunnel behind her.

She didn't have a chance to get another word in before the ground started to shake. She wondered if the sound of her voice had triggered the collapse of the tunnel, and she cringed as the earthquake worsened.

There was an explosion of rock and rubble as the head of a large snake-like Pokémon protruded from the wall just next to the door. Trying to make out its shape in the dark corridor, she determined it to be an Onix. At least it was a Pokémon she recognized. She gulped as it glared at her.

"Visitor," the Onix boomed. "Who are you here to see?"

"Uh… Nobody. Well… the guild leader, maybe? I was thinking about… joining."

To Lily's relief, the Onix lightened up instantly. "Oh, really? It's a good time to come. We just finished with an expedition and we're being lazy for a few weeks. Come on in! We can interview you immediately."

There was another noisy earthquake as the steel hatch rose into the ceiling. It opened just enough for Lily to pass through, as though the Pokémon manning the door control was too lazy to open it any further. She darted underneath it, her heart pounding at the thought of having it suddenly drop and crush her, the leaf on her head scraping it the whole way. When she was safely through, there was an earth-shattering _thump_ which nearly tossed Lily a foot into the air from the sheer knockback as the door shut.

The tunnel was dark, dark, _dark_. A faint glow from some far-off light source let her see a sketchy outline of the walls, but it wasn't any more helpful than the glow of the stars in the night sky. The Onix made terrible grinding noises as it slithered and shifted before her.

"Trust me, boss'll be thrilled to see this," the Onix grumbled. "And you're a grass-type. We don't have any of those on our team. You'll be useful. I think the future's already looking bright for you. This way, please. Follow me…"

_Brighter than this corridor, at any rate,_ Lily said to herself as she carefully traced the movement of the Onix in front of her and tried not to run headfirst into its tail.

In addition to being dark, the tunnel was long, long, _long_. Lily lost count of how many steps she took down that never-ending ramp; it seemed to her that the guild base was located in a completely different region connected only to Great Crystal City by this obnoxiously long artery for contractual reasons.

At last, after at least ten minutes of walking, there was light, and surprisingly, heat. The cave opened up into a spacious chamber. The ceiling was carved out in the shape of a perfect dome, with holes of various sizes poked into the surface in every which direction. The floor itself was perfectly circular, the form of the sun inscribed upon it. At the center of the chamber, there were some monuments and statues, each engraved with plaques and colorful crystals. The whole room glowed with an eerie red-orange light…

A tremor overtook Lily's chest when she found the light source: from several holes in the wall, there flowed a constant stream of brightly- glowing lava, spilling and oozing like waterfalls down into reservoirs. In a surprised horror, she traced its path with her eyes and found that she could see glimpses of lava streams through small cracks and gaps in the floor. In fact, the whole floor was a disc that hung several feet above a great lava pit!

"Awesome, isn't it?" the Onix laughed, noticing Lily's wide eyes. "Took us a long time to rig it up right! It kept burning through the ducts and spilling everywhere. But it was worth it, I say. I dare you to find a better subterranean light source than graystone magma… So soft and pleasant on the eyes… Heh… I forget, you burn easily, don't you. Might want to stay away from the falls then…"

Lily was very quickly being reminded of the fact that, though she was mostly a plant-based creature, she could still sweat.

_Mnnh… Okay, yeah. That is kinda awesome,_ Lily told herself, quickly becoming hypnotized by the strange beauty of the bursting colors in the flowing, fiery rock. _Scary. Really scary. But awesome. Eh… maybe if I spent some time in this place, it'd help steel myself against environmental hazards. Explorers shouldn't be scared of a little fire… Not even grass-types…_

"Wait here," the Onix instructed, slithering towards one of the side tunnels. "I'm going to go get the boss. He's going to be thrilled, let me tell you…"

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for very long. After less than a minute, another earthquake-like tremor shook the ground. It was a march of a mighty Pokémon, she realized, perhaps more than one. When the shockwaves began to bounce her into the air, she knew an entire army was headed her way.

All at once, from several of the side-tunnels, the entire guild spilled into the chamber, yammering and growling, excited to see the newcomer who was looking for work. Lily watched as the room filled, surprised that she recognized many of the Pokémon. There was a Typhlosion, a couple Golems, a Skarmory, the Onix that greeted her at the gate alongside a few others of its kind...

"Wait, what, are you kidding? You've got to be kidding me!" a Golemn cried out. "_That_ little thing? She's useless! She doesn't even have graspers!"

Rolling her eyes, Lily extended her two vines and waved them around for display.

"_Ahhh!!_" another Golem yelled. "_Ahh,_ put those away! Get 'em away! My brother was nearly cracked in half by one of those… Eeesh!!"

But then, there came a Pokémon that she had certainly never seen before. It entered the room last of all the others, the ground trembling with each step it took. She didn't even have to wonder—this, she knew, was the guild's leader. It was so massive, it looked like a walking mountain to the little Chikorita. Its body was covered in steel armor that must have been inches thick. Its helmet was bright-white, like pearls, its eyes shimmering turquoise in the glowing light of the magma like misplaced raindrops. It stood on its hind legs, towering over all the other Pokémon. The guild parted to give it room.

Lily clenched her teeth and stood her ground as the great Pokémon approached her.

"I am Aggron, director of the Iron Golems," the monstrous one boomed. "Pleased to meet you, little leaf Pokémon. I apologize for Grayshield's… rudeness. Many of us have not familiarized themselves with your type."

"It's alright, Master Aggron," Lily said as politely as she could manage. "Pleased to meet you, too. I'm Lily. I'm… new to this place. This is my first day in Great Crystal City. Actually… this is my first day in Ambera, too. I come from overseas."

"Lily," the Aggron grunted in admiration of the name. "Ambitious little one, it seems like… So I hear from my servant Orix that you are an aspiring explorer?

"I am," Lily said simply.

"That is rare," the Aggron admitted, dropping to all fours to get a closer look at her. "Nobody has wanted to join this guild for years. And you are… you are special. We could use someone like you to wield grass-type attacks. We fight many rock-types."

Lily thought the plate of metal beneath her feet was sagging. She imagined the whole floor collapsing under the collected weight of the guild into the vortex of magma below.

"Tell me, little leaf Pokémon, how… serious are you?" the great steel Pokémon questioned. "This is a mining guild. We explore far and wide into the darkest caves and excavate all the valuable metals and minerals we find. Our work is never easy. It is only fit for those who will dedicate themselves to achieving their greatest potential of strength. How… far are you willing to go to become strong?"

"As far as it takes," Lily asserted. "If I join a guild, this is going to be my life. Nothing else is going to be more important."

"Good," the Aggron hummed with a gleaming smile. "Fortitude and perseverance are vital to working with us. Our expeditions can take months at a time. You will be expected to keep up. I hope you will not have a problem with evolving to your highest level in a timely manner?"

"No. I understand that I will have to evolve," Lily responded. "I- look forward to it."

"Again, good," the Aggron said. "Our work is not easy. Our work is painful, and relentless, and we don't stop to rest very often. But… should you chose to join us, the reward is… unparalleled. You see, little leaf Pokémon… we are wealthy beyond your wildest dreams! Every member of this guild has a treasure trove to their name. Their children and their children's children would not need to work a day of their lives for five generations."

Lily glanced around the room at the other guild members. They all nodded in agreement to this statement. She could see that they were all world-hardened creatures, adapted to a life of difficulty… yet, not one of them had any regrets. The payment was worth everything.

"We recently returned from an expedition hundreds of miles to the west," Aggron explained. "There, we unearthed several thousand pounds of coal and sold them into Ambera's markets. We are weary of the journey, so we are taking a month's rest. But that is not to say that we wouldn't have time to begin your training immediately. So… when could you start?"

---

She had her doubts from the beginning. She grew especially worried when she tried to answer the Aggron's question and found herself to be trembling, not from the heat, or from fear, but just from… being overwhelmed. This was a serious group. They were dead-set in their position in life, a life she would have taken up if she would have joined them. Even as she told the guild she'd think about it, even as she was escorted uphill back through the lengthy tunnel, she knew in the back of her mind that it _could_ be her life if she really wanted it. It was secure. It paid well. And she knew she was capable of it.

But the real moment of truth for Lily didn't come until she emerged from that staircase and found herself back among the late afternoon streets of Great Crystal City. She realized how much she missed the sun. It was something so simple, yet something she always took for granted. Living down there, and focusing all her efforts toward cave mining expeditions, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she didn't want to spend all of her life deprived of the sunlight. It was one of her favorite things in life, after all.

And so, she scratched off the Golems from her list of possibilities.

_What was that next place?_ Lily asked herself, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust to the daylight. _The Evergreens. On… what was it? Clear Diamond Street? Heh… that guild sounds like it'd be more of my type. Hope they're just as open to recruits as these guys were…_

And so, almost an hour later of walking through the crowded city and asking for directions several times, Lily finally arrived to Clear Diamond Street. The place certainly made an impression on her: it was lined, on both sides, with what looked to be black-stoned fortresses, built from blocks of something like pure, shining obsidian. These were _extremely_ expensive houses, she figured, just like the mansions in the human cities built with thousands upon thousands of red bricks. Not very many Pokémon wandered the streets here, and those that did sent her questioning glances, making her slightly uneasy.

She had to wonder why the street was given the name that it had. There were no diamonds, nor was it very clear; the tall, black-colored houses cast long shadows over the walkway, obscuring even the ever-present multicolored light from the city's epicenter.

_This guild must be really rich, too,_ Lily realized. _If they live in this place… wow… I wonder what it feels like to be rich? I bet things are a lot easier…_

Block after block of monstrous buildings went by. Lily inspected each one, hoping to find a telltale sign of where the guild lived. As she looked closer, she found that each mansion had its own unique architecture, probably suited to the Pokémon which lived there. She wondered if the buildings had been raised to order. She wondered if the Iron Golems were the architects, with the sturdy dark material which comprised them being stone that they had dug out from under the earth's surface with their own hands and claws…

After a half-hour more of walking, the sun was ever-so-slightly beginning its decent, but still Lily found no indication of the guild's whereabouts. Getting just a little anxious thinking about the ghost Pokémon of the night, and wondering if she'd missed something along the way, Lily picked up the pace down the road, her eyes darting from house to house.

But just before Lily was tempted to ask for specific directions to the guild, she reached the very end of the road. She was on the edge of Great Crystal City. Beyond the last remaining houses, there was an empty lot of land, and far beyond that, the city boundary…

And there, at the very, _very_ end of Clear Diamond Street, literally pinned directly on the dead-end, was a small wooden shack.

_**Evergreen Guild  
**__Crystal City Office_

Lily blinked. Compared to the spectacles of the surrounding buildings, this was pathetic! It was some sort of short cabin made of carved wood loosely held together by nails. She imagined that it was practically a pile of toothpicks, ready to collapse at the mere touch of the wind. The sign hung in a lopsided manner next to the front door.

_Well, alright,_ Lily told herself. _Might as well try it… I spent all day walking here, so here goes nothing…_

There was no door, and no attendant to guard the entrance. She simply walked in.

Inside looked just as bad as outside. The whole place was made of wooden beams of varying lengths and colors, all splintery and unfinished and nailed together. There was something like a welcome mat on the inside of the door, a metal pad made from interconnected chain links. Lily wondered if it was from a discarded fishing cage.

Lily looked around. The ceiling was low. The walls were bare. There was a desk which she could not see over. It was well-lit enough, with light flowing in freely from some open windows. But aside from some incomprehensible decorations, the only thing of note in the entire place was a cute little potted plant growing out from somewhere behind the countertop.

"Hel-_lo?_" She called.

She was halfway relieved that her voice didn't cause an earthquake this time. Probably would have brought down the whole building.

Her call was answered by a low, feral grumble.

She jumped in surprise, having thought that she was alone in the room. There was movement. The plant on the other side of the counter began wobbling up and down, supported by an unseen force!

_Oh¸_ she quickly realized. _That's not a potted plant at all! That's… one of those big grass-type turtle Pokémon. I remember seeing some of them from the harbor town…_

Lily looked around for some chair or something to support herself so she could meet the Pokémon face-to-face over the counter, but a hinged door flew open and she soon found herself staring the turtle Pokémon in the face.

At first, she found her tongue tied in knots. This Pokémon was_ much_ larger than she expected! It was nothing like the other turtles she saw at the docks. This one towered over her and stared at her with huge menacing eyes that were almost as big as she was! It looked at her curiously, sending its exhaled breath sweeping across her body…

_This… thing… it's almost as big as Aggron!_ Lily realized. _Heck, it could probably tear Aggron apart in a fight, given the type matchup and all…_

"Uh… hello…?" Lily tried.

A joyous smile suddenly covered the giant turtle's face.

"Chi-_ku_!" it cried in a light, playful tone. "Chi-_kuuu!_"

Lily bit her lip.

"Chiiii-_ku!!_" it said again. "Chi-ku-_rita!_ Hello Chik-ku-_rita!_"

"Uh… hi," Lily said, a little dumbfounded for words. "I'm Lily."

"I'm S_eeeeeeeei_smic!" the turtle responded gleefully. "I'm a _Tor-terr-a! _A _terr_-i-ble _Tor-terr_-a!"

"Nice to meet you, Seismic!" Lily sang. "I'm here to—"

"I'm a level _hun_-derrred!" it boomed in pride.

_Thump._

Lily fell over backwards in a stunned bout of shock and awe.

"Are you kay, Chi-ku!?" the Torterra cried, blinking in surprise, though not budging from its spot.

She scrambled to her feet, but her legs still weren't following her orders, and her eyes still bulged out of her head. It couldn't be true. She just couldn't believe it. "Level one hundred" was a term humans used to describe a Pokémon who had trained so long and hard, it reached the absolute maximum potential of strength allowed by its bodily makeup. There were few Pokémon in the whole world who ever achieved this distinction. She'd never met one in her life, and never planned on meeting one. But here, right before her eyes, there was a Torterra, a Pokémon she'd never known existed, claiming to be a level hundred. Given its raw size, she wasn't going to challenge the assertion. She just couldn't seem to accept it.

"A, I, uh, that's… great!" She managed to say. "You look… really tough!"

"Cute little Chi-ku!" it said, bobbing its head up and down. "Play with me, Chi-ku!"

"Um…"

Lily grimaced. She thought about making a dash for the exit door. But thankfully, just then, another Pokémon showed up.

It fluttered in from a hallway somewhere behind the countertop. It was a very colorful thing, beating its large wings energetically as it swooped and tumbled through the air. Lily thought it was shaped much like a Butterfree, but it soon became clear that it wasn't one. Again, it was a Pokémon she'd never seen before.

The colorful butterfly Pokémon landed daintily on the table and surveyed the scene. Its eyes darted from Lily to the giant Torterra.

"Seismic, if there was a visitor, why didn't you call for me?" it cried, waving its tiny limbs around in the Torterra's direction. "Chikorita, I'm very sorry about all this… Seismic can be a little bit out of touch with reality sometimes. Hey, you oversized walnut you, don't stand and block the door. And tread lightly, don't want you making the roof cave in _again!_"

"Oh, it's fine, really," Lily said quickly, eyeing the Torterra as it sank back out of sight, everything but its little tree disappearing behind the countertop. "He seems like a nice Pokémon. But… is he… okay? He didn't get bumped on the head, did he?"

"Well, yes and no," the butterfly said, flitting off the table and around Lily's head, coming to land at her side. "You see," he whispered, "he's actually more like a newborn. He only hatched a little over a year ago…"

Lily blinked. "That's… wow…" she responded, trying to digest the news. "If he's so young… how is he… so strong? He says he's… a level hundred."

"He is, indeed, he is," the Butterfly said. "You see… he was raised by a human trainer, right? And when he first hatched, the human trainer… well… you know these things called 'rare candy' right?"

"Yeah, they're like steroids for Pokémon," Lily said. "They make your body grow even if you don't train. But they're really rare…"

"Well, you see," the butterfly explained, "not one minute after the poor little thing hatched out of its egg, its trainer started stuffing these things down its throat, until he had eaten over a hundred! A tiny little Turtwig found himself in the body of a Torterra before it even knew how to speak. Unfortunate, because now that he's all grown up, his mind can't develop the way it should, so he's… yeah."

Lily winced, imagining how horrible the turtle had to feel.

"But that's not the end of it, though," the butterfly continued, flitting around to speak into Lily's other ear. "When he became a level hundred, his trainer ditched him!"

"That's horrible!" Lily cried in astonishment. "That trainer should be put away! Why would a trainer do something like that? Even after using all of those rare candies?! He must have been a billionaire to even own all those at once… Wow, just… wow. How inhumane. Why would that happen?"

"Well, I'm a little fuzzy on that part," the butterfly said. "Seismic claims that his trainer abandoned him because he didn't like the looks of his ivies. But Torterra don't grow ivy on their backs, just trees. Right? So, I'm not quite sure what he means. Anyway-!"

The butterfly buzzed back up to the countertop, standing at the visitor's attention.

"My name is Yuu, a Beautifly," it announced. "I'm the second-in-charge here at the Evergreen Guild. What can I do for you, Chikorita?"

"I'm Lily," she responded. "I just got here to Great Crystal City, and I was wondering about joining an exploration guild—"

"Applying?! You're applying?!" It cried out eccentrically, beating its wings and hovering in place. "Hired! You're hired! Welcome aboard!"

"Um… uh… thanks," Lily said, "But… first… could you tell me a little about your guild? You know, how do you work?"

"Oh, yeah! Right! I'm getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I, huh?" Yuu rambled, setting himself back down onto the table. "Sorry, really, I am. I'm not usually this crazy. I'm _never_ this crazy. I promise! But I'm just happy to see an aspiring Chikorita like yourself wandering into my door! Oh, by the way, nice place, huh? We just had it built a month ago. It's actually not finished yet. But you probably already knew that by looking at it, huh? But yeah, before we opened here, the whole guild had to operate without an office of operations! It was torture!"

"Uh… yeah, but… why are you so out-of-the-way?" Lily asked the Beautifly. "It took me forever just to find this place next to all the mansions. There weren't any signs or anything. It was so hidden!"

"Well, well, if you can't find things that are hidden, what kind of explorer do you think you'd make, anyway?" Yuu laughed. "Hah. But no… we're here, because it's on the very edge of town, which is perfect for us! The countryside is so close by, it's just a walk out of the city! And with all these wealthy Pokémon living at our doorstep, we get plenty of work to do! So, Lily! When can you start? We have a perfect position open for you! It has your name on it, Lily, in bright shiny colors! It's yours!"

The energetic Beautifly winced, stopping itself in mid-thought.

"Sorry, sorry, I… sorry, yeah. I'm serious. This isn't me. I never act like this," Yuu sighed. "It's just… yeah. Alright … So… okay… anyway… we're the Evergreen Guild. We're really famous around these parts. You ask people here to name the exploration guilds here in the city, and we're first on the list! Well, sometimes second. Or third. But, we're on the list, and that's what really matters! We're a team of _very_ talented Pokémon with a _wide_ range of skills and _huge_ hearts for what we do."

"So, what _do_ you do?" Lily implored. "Do you mine for minerals, or…"

"We're treasure hunters!" Yuu answered energetically. "We go wherever we feel like and look everywhere for shiny things! And then the rich people here in the city buy those shiny things at ridiculous prices and we get rich! Have fun, don't run, get the job done! That's our motto! It's a great life, I tell you. But we need strong, dedicated Pokémon to make it happen! Those mystery dungeons aren't very nice places, let me tell you. Seismic may look like a real powerhouse, but this one time he was KO'd by a legendary Pokémon named Heatran on one of his first expeditions here. True story!"

"Heh, wow," Lily said. "Sounds fun. So… are you… successful, at all? Do you make a lot of money?"

"Oh, of course, of course, we're successful," Yuu said quickly. "We make enough to keep our guild members fed and sheltered every day! And sometimes, when there's something that we all _really_ want, we all set a plan and save up for it until we get it! Like this office!"

"Hmm… okay," Lily said skeptically. "So… you say you're the second in charge? Who's your leader? And how big is this guild?"

"Our guild is in the _dozens_," Yuu assured her. "And every last one is special and talented. Our leader… well… I shouldn't talk about her. She might not like it. I'm not too sure."

"Why not?" Lily wondered.

"Well, you see," Yuu said lowly, "Our leader… has something to the effect of… how should I say it… a split personality? Yeah, it's like she's two completely separate Pokémon living in the same mind. Sometimes she's all happy and outgoing, but other times, she's really self-conscious, especially about the kind of Pokémon she is… Seems to be embarrassed that others would find out. She'd give me a real talking-to if she found out I was talking about her… that is, if _that_ personality were in control at the moment… Trust me, it's a sticky situation. But you'd meet her first thing when you join the guild, promise!"

_Split… personality?_ Lily wondered, mulling about the concept. _That… doesn't seem to be a very pleasant Pokémon to be around…_

That's when a horrible realization began to click into place. A clearly eccentric butterfly… an overpowered turtle too young for its body… a schizophrenic guild leader… and, not least of all, a guild base that was falling apart at the seams…

"Oh, but we all love her, and the guild gets along just fine with her!" Yuu assured. "Most of the time. That is. We're all special in some way or another. You'll love meeting the whole team! There's Elder. He's a Girafarig, he likes walking backwards instead of forwards. Then there's Paras, he's great, never talks very much, though. And Nolaf, the Leafeon, he's got the best sense of humor in the world! It's a total blast, Lily. You'll be a perfect addition to the team…"

_They're all crazy._

Lily shifted her stance.

_They're just a bunch of crazy Pokémon who don't have any idea what they're really doing,_ Lily realized. _Probably all rejects from society in some way or another, just trying to make a living for themselves… well, good for them, but… I almost want to go back to the Golems. At least there wasn't any question about their competence…_

"I'll think about it," Lily said quickly, trying not to panic. "But I've got to check out the other guilds before sundown. So… thanks for everything, but…"

"Oh, really?" Yuu cried in disappointment, his energy dashed yet again. "I was hoping… I could go tell our leader about a new recruit today! That'd totally make her day! Well… You come back and tell us if you've made up your mind, Lily! We'll be waiting for you—"

The little Chikorita had dashed for the exit so quickly that the Beautifly wasn't even able to finish speaking.

Once she was gone, Yuu stared at the door-less entryway through which she disappeared, wondering what he had said to chase her away.

* * *

_Yuu the Beautifly was created by **Imagine **__**.EXE.**_  
_Seismic the Torterra was created by __**Kishoto**_**.  
**_(I changed him a little bit from the character sheet that was sent to me, including upgrading him to level 100. But I should mention that, of all the character submissions I received, Seismic is my favorite. I'll certainly have fun with him.)_

_Also, you gotta pardon my blatant Explorers of Sky reference… Well, I had to do _something_ to acknowledge the game's release! I've been playing it almost constantly for the past few weeks. It's one of the many reasons I haven't gotten around to finishing this chapter until now._


	12. Verse 2, Part 5

_Author's Note:_

_I am currently suffering from a very bad toothache. I find it is very difficult for my brain to focus on ideas and find the words it needs to describe them. So, I apologize for this chapter being very shoddy, but since I was supposed to have this done weeks ago, I don't want to delay things any further._

_Also, I know I'm falling behind on reviews. I know, I know. So… go ahead and PM me if you want me to review your story, or if I gave you a review and then stopped… It'll help me to rebuild my to-do list._

_I can't wait to get to the next Silver Resistance chapter, so let's get this thing moving again._

* * *

Late in the afternoon, Luxio, a Croconaw, and a Combusken occupied a planning table at the commons of Fort Emerald. Their hearts were heavy, but strong, as they discussed their recent mission and its outcome, and waited for the motivation to begin the long trek back to District Ten through the worsening winter weather. Since attending Lucario's meeting, they'd already overstayed for one night hoping the storm would blow over, and were fearing having to stay another.

"We can't go back," the Croconaw insisted. "That'd be stupid. They know what we did now. They'd be looking out for us."

"There has to be something… we've got to do _something_ about it, Aquos" the Combusken muttered. "After all this. We started that trade route. Maybe we can fix it… I just can't believe… All the time we were there, Snowcrest looked clean… I mean, Lucius… there was no indication that the Master was watching us… Am I right?"

"I don't think Snowcrest was ever the problem," the Luxio considered. "It was the palace the Master must have been watching the whole time, not Snowcrest. And we never noticed because we spent most of our effort at Snowcrest… The line was cut at the end we always assumed would be the least of our trouble."

The Combusken sighed, his spirit deeply unsettled.

For a moment, he focused his attention on a peculiar item sitting before him on the table: a medium-sized chunk of a glass-like jewel, gleaming with an ever-so-slight tint of redness wherever a shadow was cast upon it. He fiddled with the shard, turning it around in his claws, as if hoping it could bring him some sort of answer. After no answer came, the fire Pokémon lifted his gaze to his surroundings.

The common room was a large place. The floor was composed of a rough, sturdy marble laced with green veins, and the walls with white grooved stone common to many of the city's buildings. A wooden kiosk full of books was positioned at the center of the room, and around it, lining the walls, sat dozens of small tables at which Pokémon teams could rest. To an outsider, the place would have looked like a tavern or a recreation hall, but the resistance teams of the division often used it to plan and strategize for their missions while they were within the city walls and near all the resources they would need to get ready, such as the library and the equipment retailers.

Unease further washed over the Combusken as he looked around the room, seeing that it was mostly deserted. Only two other teams occupied the often-teeming chamber, the rest having departed for home before the blizzard could trap them in the city.

"Lucario says the Master has his sights on Snowcrest now," the Combusken recalled. "We know the area. We should help. We have to find some way to help."

A few slivers of static leapt across the Luxio's mane as it shook its head. "Best we don't," it answered regretfully. "We've done our damage. There's a reason Lucario didn't assign this to us. It's up to Team Flamewheel now. If we stepped foot inside that city, and the Master caught sight of us, they could put two and two together, and before you know it… we're dead."

The Combusken clutched his crystal, feeling anger begin to seethe within his chest.

"We can't lose Snowcrest," he growled adamantly, trying to keep his Ember in check. "We can't let this happen to them… We can't let the Master tear down Snowcrest…"

"_Flare._"

The Combusken blinked at the sound of his name. He loosened his grasp on his glimmering stone.

"You're preaching to the choir," the Croconaw told him. "I know it must hurt remembering what happened to you as a kid. But don't forget you're a walking cliché, Flare. The whole resistance exists because the Master hurt us like that. Everybody here has a dead family. Dead friends. Or a burned-down hometown. You aren't the only Pokémon who wants justice done."

Flare nodded to himself. It was true. Tragic pasts were a common ground of the entire resistance; with almost every Pokémon he could turn to, from the newest recruit to the most hardened warrior, he found that many others shared his story. For instance, Markov the Feraligatr of Team Remorse, Aquos' role-model, watched helplessly as his eggs were tossed into a pool of Sharpedo… followed by his mate. Canniah the Arcanine, who served Team Flamewheel, woke one morning to find her father's jaws dripping with the blood of her family after having his memory erased by a psychic and turned into a vicious feral. Naxi the Flygon, the freelance mercenary, had once served the Master from time to time if the pay was good, but after being betrayed and nearly killed, devoted the remainder of his life to revenge…

And he, Flare, the Combusken, narrowly escaped as his home village beneath Redwolf Woods was smashed to the ground by the Master, after some brilliant commander determined it harbored an imaginary resistance movement…

…

"_They're coming," the Typhlosion hissed to his son. "Flare. You can get away from here. Go, while there's still a chance…"_

"_Father, what's happening?" the little Torchic cried. "Father… what's going on?!! Where's mother? Where's everybody else…?"_

"_Flare, listen," the Typhlosion begged. "You have to listen to me. Get out the back tunnel. Escape from here… I can distract them. But you have to move now. Go. GO!"_

…

_Cries filled the air as the little Torchic slipped out the back door of his home, obeying the words of his father. Cries of Pokémon barking orders to one another… Cries of Pokémon giving their last breaths…_

_Voices he recognized…_

_Thinking it was all some sort of dream, he ran, and ran, leaving those sounds far behind him… until…_

…

_Forever, an image remained frozen before his eyes._

_A pack of Golduck, Poliwhirl… lead by a tall, menacing Scyther… they stood before him, blocking his escape. His heart ran cold._

"_It is only a child," the Scyther said. "It is harmless."_

"_That is beside the point," said a Golduck. "Kill it anyway. The orders were to leave no survivors."_

_The Scyther's eyes locked with the Torchic's, his cunning gaze forever burning into his sight…_

"_It is not worth the trouble," the Scyther decided. "It is too young. Practically a feral. Let it go. It will not be a threat."_

…

Though he wished he could forget the memories, those few vivid flashes would stab his mind's eye whenever he would recall them, never to go away. Even after finding a new family to adopt and care for him, even after starting a new life which nearly replaced his old, the memories still came back sometimes when he would let his mind wander…

And so, when his adoptive family revealed to him that they were part of a massive underground organization that worked to defy the Master, he joined without hesitation. If there was anything he could do to prevent the tragedy that had happened to him from spreading to others… if there was any way to bring a sense of hope to those who would be targeted… he wanted to make it happen.

It had been nearly two decades since the team's first mission together. The diamond shard he held in his claws was a memento of that day, the day he and his four closest friends found them while exploring Crumbling Valley for a missing Spinarak from the division. It was that day he realized just how well the five Pokémon worked together. Upon returning back to the Gold Division with the missing Pokémon in tow, the five of them promptly quit their positions on Team Carrier, and Team Beacon was born.

Though they were not the strongest of teams quite yet, they proved themselves to be reliable, even surprising Lucario with their competence in dealing with rescue missions. It was enough to land them their positions at the Emerald Division. Through it all, they kept those diamond shards since the first day, holding them on person at all times in tiny pouches. They appeared as clear, colorless chunks of glass as long as the light touched them, but in the dark, they produced a radiant rainbow of color that lit the way through the darkest of nights and the deepest of caves. Having the strange things appraised, they found that no Pokémon had any idea what they were, or how they produced light. They remained as a symbol of brotherhood to the team, as well as a symbol to Flare of his purpose in life, to bring light in the darkness of hopelessness.

"How many more Pokémon share my story now," Flare wondered as he turned his crystal shard around in his claws, "now that Frozen Spring is gone?"

"If the Master had his way, zero," Lucius said. "The Master hates survivors. They're the ones who always fight against him. But if the Master is honing in on the Emerald Division, this might turn out worse than losing one little village. Or two. Doesn't help to beat yourself up over it."

Flare grumbled. Though it was painful, Lucius was right. He had to calm down. The situation was a bit more complicated than he wished. Acting blindly out of vengeance wouldn't accomplish anything.

"Still, you do have a point," the Luxio added. "It's difficult to imagine Team Flamewheel couldn't get this done. Back at the Gold Division they were one of the best around."

"Team Remorse probably could've handled it," Aquos claimed. "They made the best combination with Team Flamewheel. Too bad they don't work for Lucario. We could really use them right about now."

Flare felt his ember ignite further at the mere mention of Team Remorse. It was not like him to be angry, but there were certain things he could not stand remembering. He clutched his crystal tight, watching as small rays of crimson light were cast from it.

A tensed silence came over the team, regret for having accidentally mentioned Team Remorse… It was because of the elite resistance team that Flare made the decision to migrate to the Emerald Division in the first place. It was not something which Flare or any of his teammates felt comfortable bringing up.

"But hey," Aquos said quickly, "Look, we can pull through this. The whole division can. We heard Lucario yesterday. He's on this. We won't let the Master tear down Snowcrest or any place. And if there's anything we can do to help… we'll find it. There's still a spark of hope here. And… as long as there's a spark…"

"The fire isn't dead," Flare recited, almost by reflex.

"And as long as the fire is alive…"

"Hope lives on."

"And where there's hope…"

Flare gently released his grasp on the diamond shard, setting it down on the table and admiring its residual glow as it slowly faded back to colorlessness.

"…The darkness is held at bay," he completed.

It was their team motto. Part of their motto, at least. Though it was silly, it was another thing Team Beacon had kept since its inception. Upon coming up with the team name, Rita the Chikorita decided that they needed a motto. So, after everyone in the team took turns throwing in a few lines of their own, they had a coherent little mantra which reminded them of their team's mission. It grew on Flare over the years, and now it never failed to raise his spirit even in the worst of times.

"Alright then," he said, looking his two teammates in the eyes. "If we're not going back to Snowcrest… what do we do?"

"The best thing we _can_ do, probably, is head back to the Gold Division for now," the Luxio suggested. "They know who we are now. We should make ourselves scarce, come back in a few months when it's blown over. Of course, I don't think Flare would ever approve of that…"

"Let's go to the Abyss," Flare decided suddenly, standing from his seat.

His friends both blinked. Lucius held his tongue, not sure how to respond.

"No, really," he insisted. "We're a rescue team. It's what we do best. We could go there. We could help with the rescue effort."

"You want to die with the rest of the fools searching for the Rapture Stone?" a deep voice spoke. "You'd be no better than them. The mission is nine-star. If you have any sense, leave it for those who know what they're doing."

Flare balked at the sound of the voice. It was imposing, sinister, serious… and strangely familiar. Startled, he turned to find the source.

A tall, dark figure loomed before him, over twice his own height. Its body was that of a serpent, very dragon-like, lined with shining black scales. Tiny clawed arms extended from its body, a long tail snaked across the ground behind it, and huge kite-like wings sprouted from its back, spread wide to make its figure even more intimidating. Its face, however, resembled that of an insect.

Flare swallowed hard. He knew this Pokémon, but had never experienced an audience with it. In truth, he never really wished to. It was a powerful creature, right up there with the best of the resistance, though legendary for its disagreeable and unfriendly nature. It was none other than Naxi, the black Flygon.

Naxi was a well-known figure around the resistance, mostly for being a wanted enemy for nearly a decade. He was a mercenary for hire, and since the Master was usually the one with the most funds at his disposal, Naxi wound up as a powerful antagonist to the resistance divisions, responsible for a great many deaths of notable team leaders and heroes. Though, that all changed one day when the Gold Division pooled their funds and decided to try hiring him for a mission of their own, to diffuse the threat he posed… and when he accepted, he quickly found that the Master could no longer trust him and ordered him to be killed. Upon escaping from the Master's wrath, he realized that the resistance was the only place in the world left open to him, and decided he would only serve the enemies of the Master from that point on.

Even though he sided with the resistance, claiming that revenge was a more valuable reward to him than money, Naxi refused to pledge allegiance to anyone. Instead, he wandered between the three divisions, serving any who would pose the greatest need of his service.

"Oh… " Flare managed to say, rather frightened at the Flygon's sudden appearance. "Didn't know you were in the neighborhood, Naxi."

"He was at the meeting yesterday, if you were paying any attention," Aquos mentioned. "If you don't mind me asking, Naxi, What brings you to the Emerald Division?"

"None of your concern," the Flygon replied indifferently, inspecting the table at which Team Beacon sat. "If you will excuse me, I was instructed to wait here. I doubt you are involved."

Taking the hint, Flare shoved his seat back underneath the table and leave the Flygon alone. He glanced at Aquos, who began to follow his motions, but then noticed a sly look on Lucius's face. He had no intention of moving.

"It's a good thing you came here," Lucius said to the Flygon, sitting high in his seat to meet his eyes. "We might need you. Things aren't going well for the Emerald Division right now."

"Exaggeration," Naxi answered, showing a hint of irritation in his voice. "From what I gathered at that meeting, Lucario's getting paranoid again. Like he always does. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to his speech. Found it painfully boring."

"I think it's a little more than just paranoia," Lucius returned. "Did you hear about the massacre at Frozen Spring?"

"The village to the far west?" Naxi replied. "No… I didn't hear. But I don't really care. It's of no concern to me either way."

"It's gone," Lucius told him. "Master stomped it flat just a week or so ago."

"…Oh."

Naxi looked thoughtful for a split second, as if he realized he had forgotten some trivial detail. But other than that, he showed no emotion, continuing to scowl in annoyance of the amateur team at his table.

"Oh?" Flare echoed, surprising himself as he spoke up at the command of his boiling fire. "_Oh?_ Is that all you can say?? This was a tragedy. Hundreds of Pokémon are dead. The handful of survivors have to live now without their family for the rest of their lives. The Master continues to destroy the world, and you don't _care?_"

"The only _tragedy_ here was a tactical mistake by Lucario or whatever team he assigned the mission to," Naxi grunted in reply. "The dead Pokémon mean nothing. Pokémon die every day, with or without the Master's help. But you're right; this may indicate an issue for the division. I may soon find work."

Flare scowled at the Flygon, his denseness and lack of pity quickly making him furious.

"You forget what I am," Naxi said to the Combusken. "I'm an assassin. I kill for a living. The first thing I killed was my conscience. I'm sure some Pokémon have a use for emotional baggage and pain. I don't. I can't afford to be held back by meaningless feelings."

"…Speaks the great dragon who thrives on the sense of vengeance like bread and water," a new voice shouted from across the room.

Flare glanced behind Naxi, and to his surprise, found a Ninetales strutting across the room in the direction of his table. Undoubtedly, it was Legend of Team Flamewheel. He held his head high and walked with a strut, full of his usual pride.

"You numb the pain by hardening the heart," Legend spoke, "But to reject the instinctual feelings of the heart, to disregard your emotions, you detach yourself from all the lesser Pokémon surrounding you, and you lose something far greater: you lose the ability to relate to them. And I dare to allege the power to manipulate the hearts of Pokémon would be of the utmost use to a legendary strategist such as yourself."

"A power I find no use for," Naxi returned. "When I need to manipulate Pokémon, I find others to do it for me."

"Naxi."

"Legend. I assume you're the one who sent me the message."

"You assume correctly," Legend said. "There is something I would like to discuss with you—"

"Uh… hey… hate to be rude, but… are we interrupting something?" Aquos shouted, his eyes darting between the Flygon and the Ninetales. "We had no idea you were holding a meeting here…"

"Ah, Team Beacon, Well met," Legend said, turning to the other members of the table. "My sympathies for your disrupted project at Stone Palace. My heart goes out to you along with the rest of Rayquaza's Clutch. And to answer your question, no; in fact, it's a fortunate coincidence you're here. I needed to speak with you as well."

Naxi shifted in place, growing uncomfortable or perhaps bored with the circumstance. It was a good thing, then, that Legend wasted no time in getting down to business.

"Prince desires your assistance at Snowcrest, Great Hunter Naxi," Legend said outright. "After discussing recent affairs, we have all come to the conclusion that recruiting help would be optimal to our success on the mission Lucario gave to us. And seeing that you have returned to Rayquaza's Clutch too recently to have gotten involved with another matter, dark one, you were among the first of Prince's choices. "

"What good would I be on your mission," Naxi grumbled back, far from amused. "I am a killer, not a babysitter. You expect me to stand by while you chaperone the denizens of Snowcrest away from their doom?"

"I assure you, dark one, that we call upon the services of an assassin, because we desire the services of an assassin," Legend returned. "That is to say, we wish we did not need you. Indeed, if we lived in a perfect world where nothing would go wrong, there are many things we would not need. But the chance lingers in the air that such a simple mission could spiral out of control at any moment, and if it does, we would like nothing more than to call upon you to… assist us in quelling such an uprising."

"And if it doesn't?" Naxi questioned. "Would you waste my time with this theoretical threat of yours when I could instead be engaging in something a little more profitable?"

"Judging by the recent upheavals of our footholds, I find it unsafe to assume anything will go as planned," Legend said. "And I, for one, do not intend to be the fool who marches into a disaster unprepared for the consequences. Not to mention Prince. I promise it will be worth your time. And if not, we will make it so."

Naxi squirmed oddly in place, sighing tiredly as he looked the Ninetales in the eye.

"I will go, but _only_ if you make it worth my time," Naxi decided. "If this calls for me to stand by idly without so much as firing a single Hyper Beam, I'll place a bounty on my time, so steep that you'd need to deliver the Master's head to Lucario before you could hope to pay it off. Am I clear?"

"_Crystal_ clear," Legend answered, his confidence not faltering an inch. "We will let no debt go unpaid. It will be an honor to have you at our side, dark one. If all goes according to plan, we will set out for Snowcrest in two days."

"And you are sure _Prince_ agrees to my terms?" Naxi challenged.

"I speak for him; he will agree to whatever terms I set," Legend assured him. "Besides, I think he would be more than pleased with your company if you told him you could only destroy a Combusken running through the snow. Think that is in the range of your abilities, dark one?"

"I can kill anything," Naxi uttered. "Anything is possible. It's all just a matter of finding the right strategy."

Flare stood with his beak hanging open, completely dumbfounded and confused as to the meaning of the conversation that had just taken place. When Legend cast a glance to him, the Ninetales winced so powerfully that he had to take a step backward.

"Flare, I do not mean you," Legend yelped quickly. "My apologies, I meant no offence to your species. There is… another Combusken. And a very long story behind it, in fact."

"None taken," Flare replied, not sure what else to say. "But… what does this all have to do with us?"

"I was just getting to that," Legend said, pivoting to give Team Beacon his full attention. "Prince has also asked me to implore your help for the upcoming mission. We would like for you to accompany Team Flamewheel and Naxi to Snowcrest. You have experience with the city, so you were another of Prince's first options. Is this within your power?"

Flare was deeply surprised. Team _Flamewheel_? Asking for help from Team Beacon? It was an impossibility. Some would call it a dream come true. Yet, here it was, happening. He knew it would be hopeless to turn Legend down; Legend always got the answer he wanted, even from the likes of the dark Flygon.

Yet…

Flare turned back to his two teammates, exchanging worried glances to both of them.

"Is something the matter?" Legend beseeched. "Are you bound by prior obligations? Or… is there an issue?"

"Well, the only issue is… are you sure it's safe?" Lucius asked in an uncertain tone. "I mean, after the trade route was sabotaged…"

"Safe?!" Legend laughed. "Hah. When is the work of a resistance team ever _safe_?"

* * *

_Flare the Combusken, Aquos the Croconaw, and Lucius the Luxio of Team Beacon were created by **ap13095**.  
Naxi the Flygon was created by **Dark Flygon Naxi**._


	13. Verse 2, Part 6

The day went on, the scenery reeling by endlessly as Lapras pushed himself up the Cornice River.

Around midday, a warm draft from the south touched upon the carrier Pokémon and his rider. As the river wound across the countryside, seeping around the hills and down into the subtle valleys beneath them, the Cornice River veered to the south some dozens of miles. As he followed the stream, Lapras found himself surrounded by a prairie where the harsh winter winds were not as noticeable, and the small critters of the land could still bear to frolic around in the tall grass and the water-weeds.

Though it was only noon, Lapras had put in a long day already. Nearly six hours of straight swimming behind him, the twinges of fatigue began to set in.

"Say, Albert, I'm thinking about taking a rest for a while," Lapras told the bored and blank-faced Snover seated between the knobs on his shell. "What do you think?"

"Uh-huh," Albert muttered back, his eyes somewhere faraway. Staring down at the water for too long had given him funny feelings.

"Indeed, you may photosynthesize until your heart is content, but I still require rest and nourishment once in a while," Lapras chuckled. "Now is as good a time as any, I suppose. We've made good progress. I do not believe the caravan is too far away. And plenty of things to eat around here…"

Lapras forced himself through a sea of dead cattails and brushed against the river's shore. A family of wild Linoone who'd been lapping at the river's water scurried away as Lapras set himself upon the river bank, allowing Albert a safe step onto the land.

"This will not be very long," Lapras assured the child as he set his feet on the ground and wobbled back and forth, trying to find his balance. "A half hour, at most. Don't go too far, or at least out of earshot, if you can. It doesn't look like there are any predators to you around here, but predators have a way of hiding from their prey. You'd never know."

"Hey, I have an idea," Albert said suddenly with a clever grin. "Let's spar."

"What… now?" Lapras chuckled, shaking his head and lifting himself up onto the land.

"Yeah, now," Albert said. "I won't fall asleep this time. Promise."

"I'd rather not, little one," Lapras honestly replied. "I am tired. And my stomach wants to be filled."

"A Pokémon must learn to fight whenever it is necessary, even if they are tired or hungry!" Albert shouted evilly. "I'm one of those intelligent foes taking the advantage to strike!"

"Albert…" Lapras scolded, "Do you really want to attack me? If so, go ahead… Go right on ahead. I'll fight back."

Albert hesitated, feeling his advance already defeated. Of course, Lapras fought reasonably when he was training, at least enough that Albert could manage to hold his own if he focused. But here, Lapras would not be training. He would be defending himself against a bothersome nuisance standing in the way of his meal. Flustered, he sighed. There wouldn't be a point to it.

"Didn't think so," Lapras said with a wry grin. "See? You're learning already. It's not just about standing up to those stronger than you. It's about picking fights you can win. Besides… I'm sure you can find some way to occupy yourself for a half hour. So go. Explore. Have fun. Just sound your cry if you get in trouble."

Albert took a look at his surroundings. There were plants. Most of them were yellow and withering from the winter winds, but there was more vegetation than he was ever used to at his old home. All kinds of tall grass and weeds sprung up around the riverbanks, rising like a jungle around the little one. A few strange chirping sounds rose from them, as if some frogs, or birds, or possibly insects were hiding beneath the tiny canopy and calling for company. He waddled off through the vegetation, wondering if he could find any sights that could interest him.

_So, this is what the outside world is like,_ Albert mused. _Eh… this is just like home was, but… messy? And yet… somehow, I don't feel too out-of-place here. I'm a plant. _

Albert paused to look over some half-wilting sunflower-like stalks that towered over his head. A flower wobbled as a small Ledyba scaled the crown, peering around the pedals and carefully watching the newcomer.

_I wonder… do plants like to be around other plants?_ Albert asked himself. _Seems a little lonely… Plants don't really talk. They just… sit there and absorb sunlight all day. And grow. They can't even think. Yet… Hmm… Maybe… maybe that's me? Maybe that's why I never had very many friends? Because I'm a boring plant? _

"Hello… whatever you are," Albert said oddly to the bug. "I bet you don't even talk, do you?"

The ladybug Pokémon stood still and said nothing, only rhythmically waving its antennae in Albert's direction.

_Hmmm,_ Albert considered, disregarding the insect and checking out some dried-up seed bearing plants hanging above his head. _I always thought I would just be happier on my own… out in the forest with the trees… The trees that can't talk… Nobody to—_

"_YEahgh!!"_

_*Splash*_

Barely having time to gasp in surprise, the ground disappeared underneath Albert's feet, dropping him down a muddy slope and into a shallow reservoir of water.

Pausing for a moment to let his mind catch up, Albert found himself up to his eyes in the shore of a large lake, the ripples from his fall still expanding across the surface. He stood, stunned, silently scolding himself for not having watched where he was walking.

The lake was very large, appearing from his low point-of-view that it practically spanned to the horizon. It had been hidden on all sides by the stalks of oversized grass. Looking down, he could see dozens of tiny tadpoles swirling around his feet through the crystal-clear water. He could see the gravel lining the lake bed, but it turned invisible as it dropped off down a deep slope. It faded off as it ramped deeper into the dark abyss, and he couldn't see the bottom. The sunlight started to burn into his eyes as it reflected from the lake's surface.

Wondering if he should yell for Lapras, he began to inch away from the underwater inline. He wasn't scared, just a little startled; he didn't hate water, after all, just as long as it wasn't over his head.

That's when he saw them.

Little, moving silhouettes hovering underneath the water, surrounding him at a distance. They'd just appeared there, as if rushing in for a view of the giant object that had fallen into the lake. Fish Pokémon.

Fascinated, he stood perfectly still, watching to see what the fish would do. He knew that fish didn't usually draw themselves _toward_ a threat. These fish… could they be special?

There were four of them. Four fish Pokémon. They still weren't close enough for Albert to see their shape or color, but he could tell they were watching him. He watched back, his heart pounding in his chest, eager to see if they would approach him further. He figured that the surface of the water was invisible to them, so he appeared just a big awkward stump protruding into their territory.

He waited longer. Two more little shadows appeared. They were communicating with each other. Calling others to witness the anomaly of his presence. They kept their distance, wary that it could strike at any moment. Maybe they thought he was a fishing Pokémon, looking to grab a snack. Even if he was, he knew that he wouldn't be able to catch them if he tried: smart fish, he remembered the Magikarp saying, knew how to stay away from predators.

The fish swam together, passing next to each other, circling around him. Now, there was no mistaking it: they were talking to one another. They had to be intelligent fish. He held his breath in anticipation. He wanted to speak to them. It'd been a fancy of his for a while.

Finally, after the standoff nearly lasted for ten minutes, one of the fish slowly rose to the surface of the water. Albert tensed up.

The fish lifted its head and eyes above the water, treading with its lower fins and keeping its gills submerged. It had splotchy brown scales and blue fins, and wasn't all that visually appealing. But he wasn't going to say that. He tensed up as the fish eyed him.

"Uh… good afternoon, odd creature of… grass… and ice…?" the fish spoke, slurring its words oddly. "Are you… are you well? You have been standing in the lake for many minutes. Do you require help?"

Albert's voice locked up for a moment.

"Or… are you feral? You're feral, aren't you?" the fish said sadly. "In that case, you must have gotten a whack to the head recently…"

"NO! No, no… no… I'm… I'm not feral!" Albert spurted, startling the fish and causing it to jump back, bumping into some of its submerged kin. "I'm… I'm a Snover."

"Oh… well, then… Snover…" the fish gurgled, at a loss for words, "Are you quite alright? You look as though your feet are frozen in place, like some bird perched in wait for a meal. But you're no bird…"

"I'm… I'm fine," Albert said. "I'm just… I like fish. I like talking to fish. I guess."

"Oh… is that all, is it?" the bass laughed, the truly amusing fish-type laugh that he remembered the Magikarp having. "And here, we all thought you'd just fallen in and lost your mind. Well… in that case… I suppose I don't have anywhere to be…"

And with that, the fish rose above the surface of the water, still waving its fins and opening its gills as if it was still submerged.

"_AIGUGHHHH!I" _ Albert yelped, totally unprepared for the sight. _"AUGHHH! AIGUHGH!! AUGH!!_ Y- Y- Y- you're—"

Albert struggled and splashed water everywhere, leaping back from the sight of the fish inexplicably floating in mid-air. He'd been just as surprised when he learned fish could talk, and was prepared for that, but this… this was just too much! This fish could _defy reality_!

"Hey, hey! It's nothing! It's alright… Snover!" The bass laughed, hanging in the air, spinning around to look at itself. "This is… nothing. Just a waterfall pebble!"

"Waterfall… pebble?" Albert barely said, still reeling from the shock, his back up against the river bank.

"It's an enchanted stone," the fish said. "Surely you've seen enchanted stones before, Snover? They do all sorts of things. Protect you from harm, let you evolve… well, this one lets a Pokémon move with impunity through air or water. We don't use them very much, seeing as though… well… they frighten other Pokémon and make us ridiculously easy targets for birds to just snatch up… but they help when we want to move from one body of water to another, you see? We just hold it in our mouth like this and we can just swim over the land as if it were water, for a limited time, of course."

"O—oh," Albert responded, relaxing himself. "That's… that's weird."

"Yeah. It's a secret among fish," the bass said. "Anyway… I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm Horatio. I'm a Feebas. Pleased to meet you, Snover. Never seen a Pokémon quite like you before. How'd you chance upon our home? Are you exploring?"

"N-no, just… fell in, I guess," Albert replied. "Heh. Wow. That is weird. Weird. So weird."

"Yes, we know. Land Pokémon tell us all the time when they see us using it," the bass said, rolling his eyes, and darting around in mid-air. "But hey… want to give it a try?"

"Me?" Albert cried.

"Yes, you, who else?" the fish said, darting closer to Albert's head. "You like talking to fish, you say? Come on under the water. I bet my family would like to meet you."

Albert looked beneath the surface of the water, at the gathering of fish that had inched closer to him. Their scales glimmered in the refracted sunlight.

"So… what about it?" the fish asked again. "Care to take a dive into our world?"

Not waiting for an answer, Horatio swam right before Albert's eyes. From its mouth, the fish protruded a little golden rock, its sides rounded and polished like a marble. Albert lifted his stalk-like hands to accept the offering, clutching it tightly.

_*Plop!*_ the Feebas fell into the water. It swam in a circle, then lifted its face above the surface once more.

Albert turned the little nugget-shaped jewel over in his hands. It was warm and slimy, probably from being inside of a fish's mouth for a while. However, as he touched it, the warmth seemed to spread to the rest of his body, surrounding him. That's when he realized he couldn't even feel the water anymore. Though he was standing waist-high in the lake, it felt, impossibly, as though he was high and dry.

"Well, whenever you're ready, come in!" it beckoned. "That's all you need. You can breathe under the water with that! Just don't drop it, or you'll be in some trouble. Come!"

Grasping the little thing with both hands to keep it from falling from his grasp, Albert took a wary step toward the ramp leading deeper into the lake. His instincts all cried in alarm, telling him he'd drown, but he ignored them as he inched himself farther into the water.

After nearly tumbling down a steep drop-off, Albert realized he was fully underwater.

It was the strangest sensation he'd ever felt. The light was distorted, waving and bobbling around, making it difficult to tell where things actually were. The water was mostly empty, save for the collection of muddy pebbles lining the floor underneath. Sound was very muffled, though he could clearly hear some sounds, such as the nearby voices of fish.

And through it all, his lungs rose and fell as normal. He was breathing. Underwater.

Marveling at this odd power, he barely noticed the fish which soon swarmed him, all looking similar to Horatio. He found it hard to believe they could tell one another apart.

"Hello, weird Pokémon!" one yelled. "Welcome underwater! Bet it feels really weird, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" Albert responded, his mind lost in a million thoughts.

"We don't get very many visitors here," another Feebas said. "Actually, we never get _any_ visitors. We're fish! The only things that visit us are other Pokémon looking to eat us!"

"We thought you were sick, or something," another said. "Maybe you stepped on a Paras and got paralyzed or something? We have some of those around here."

"So… uh… uhm… hi," Albert managed, glancing around and into the invisible depths of the water below. "This is… fun. So… uh… I've always wondered… what's life like down here? Do you have homes?"

"Why wouldn't we? We're Pokémon, aren't we?" Horatio laughed. "Don't believe me? Here, we'll show you around!"

The fish all swarmed forward, moving like deranged birds around his head. He was sure to tread carefully, knowing that one wrong step on the slippery slope would not only send him careening forward, but would make him drop his waterfall pebble and drown. He sidled from rock to rock, staying out of the mudslides, a pleasant shiver shooting through him as the lake's temperature dropped quickly with every inch he descended.

He tried to listen in on the chatter the fish made, trying to understand what kind of life they led.

"Ergo should see this!" one said quietly. "It's been a year since we let a visitor down. Where is he?"

"Ergo's in the other lake," the other answered. "Won't be back in a week."

"What should we show him first? How about the sand pit?"

"Why not ask him about the world up there, first? Quagsire doesn't come around much anymore. We should ask him if he knows any news!"

"Now, now, that can wait until later," Horatio said. "The waterfall pebbles don't last forever, remember. Don't want to waste his time with an interrogation."

"Actually… I can tell you something," Albert spoke up, finishing a shimmy down a slippery rock and planting himself on steady mud. "The Master… took over Frozen Spring. I… I used to live there. And he kicked me out."

There was a pause.

"Wait… Frozen Spring?" Horatio said oddly. "Isn't that… Oracle Lake? Yeah, we received word of that recently… there was some sort of battle, and…"

"Only… that isn't the story we heard," another fish spoke up. "We heard that… it fell."

Albert blinked.

"Fell?" he repeated. "Fell? What do you mean, fell!?"

"Wait… you don't know?" Horatio said. "Your home… is…"

Horatio paused. A realization struck him.

"You don't know…" he said thoughtfully, reeling back in the water. "Your eyes…"

"Wait… what are you saying, Horatio?" Albert demanded. "You heard my home fell?"

Horatio was silent. His companions looked intently at one another.

"Then you heard wrong," Albert told them. "The Master just decided some Pokémon had to leave."

"Hey… uh… I propose we stop talking about this!" a Feebas said. "No use arguing on a day like this. Show the newcomer around a bit. Let's get some culture in him before he has to keep on his way, huh?"

"Hey, yes! As I was saying, let's keep focused," Horatio said quickly. "This isn't a small lake. But while you're here, we can show you some of it, can't we? Huh? So, let's get on with it!"

Mesmorized, and quickly forgetting the inaccurate story the fish had heard, Albert continued his steady climb down into the watery pit and wondered what strange sights awaited him.

---

At last, after a full five minutes of careful climbing while holding the waterfall pebble, Albert planted his feet upon the perfectly-flat pond floor…

…And couldn't believe his eyes.

The bottom of the lake was _paved_. Colorful cobblestones of every shade of black, white, and grey, lined the bottom, not unlike many of the decorative streets of the Frozen Spring. Only, this was not quite a street, as it was obviously not meant to be walked upon. It was simply a path, meant to guide the fish along the way through their habitat. And, he realized, some of the stones were glowing with a bright blue light, illuminating the dark depths of the lake. The glowing stones themselves were polished and flawless, while the others were covered in dirt and grimy plant matter.

"Glowstone," one of the Feebas pointed out. "They aren't magical or anything. We put them near the top and they soak up all the sunlight, and we have to replace them when they go out. They help us see around down here."

"Yeah, Arceus decided we didn't need to see two inches in front of our faces," another one said, "so he made us live in places where there's practically no light. We had to fix that ourselves."

As he walked, some more structures came into view. They were like mountains, big piles of rock coated with algae, perforated with holes and caves and all kinds of passages which Feebas, Magikarp, and other fish-like Pokémon slithered and darted through, all hanging in the perpetual twilight between the faint sunlight far above and the glowing rocks below.

Albert continued to attract attention in the underwater community. The crowd around him kept growing, murmuring with curiosity at his presence and his every move. They were obviously happy to have him. He, on the other hand, was on the verge of speechlessness.

"It looks nice," Albert said, squinting into the blurry sight before him. "I don't really know what to say. I had no idea fish were so… advanced."

"Well, I wouldn't call us advanced, at least compared to some of you guys up there," Horatio said. "But we do try to make life the best we can down here."

"Yeah, we can't use all that human technology we keep hearing about," another one explained. "Doesn't work underwater. So… we have our ways of keeping track of things. For instance… take a look in here! And watch your step."

Following his lead, Albert glanced at the ground and saw that he was inches away from falling down a long vertical pit. He quickly righted his course and continued forward.

From the blur ahead, there appeared a large, pearl-colored dome, almost like a giant clamshell closed over the lake bed. Following the cobblestone road underfoot, he saw that it lead to an opening in the dome, shaped like the entrance to an igloo. At first it appeared dark inside, but he saw that green and purple glows started to rise from the shadows.

"This… well, you might call it our equivalent of a library," Horatio said, swimming in front of the displaced child. "All I ask, is… please, be polite to our librarian…"

At that, the Feebas darted inside, beckoning Albert to follow.

The dome was more or less what Albert expected it to be. It was very large, almost as though it would cover the top of Oracle Lake. The inside of the dome was dotted with various colors of glowstone, all twinkling like stars from the shadows and casting a miniscule level of light throughout the chamber. There were other things about, like relics hanging from the wall, and something like steel spikes protruding from the floor around the edges.

_For being a library,_ Albert thought to himself, _this place is pretty empty…_

A loud, powerful voice bellowed from the opposite end of the dome, sending shockwaves through the water.

"_EHHHHH, WHAT in the DARK DEPTHS is THAT?_" the voice boomed, its source somewhere above Albert's head. "_WHAT KIND of weird Pokémon did you DRAG down here THIS TIME? WAIT… I KNOW THIS… Abomasnow. No… no, the younger version… Oh, what was it called…_"

From the shadows, there swam a blue, massive-sized fish… rather, at least twice the size of the Feebas and the Magikarp that were following him around. It bobbed and floated through the water as though surfing on invisible currents, trailing long tendrils behind it…

"Snover, that's it," it called. "What's the deal bringing a wild Snover down here? Wait, wait… it's not wild at all, is it? Look at its eyes, look how it focuses on things. No, you found an _intelligent_ one, did you? Giving it a tour, are you?"

"Good afternoon to you, Elder Whiscash," Horatio said respectfully, bowing his form slightly. "Yes, we found him at the surface. He seemed interested in us, so we're showing him the pond. Though, he's a bit on the quiet side, so we're not too sure if he's taking it all in…"

Albert was afraid to respond, as the big blue fish floated down and looked him over.

"This is Whiscash, our town librarian," a Feebas said. "He knows _everything._"

"That, I do!" the Whiscash replied with pride. "I'm like a swimming encyclopedia! Reading and writing? Bah, useless when you've got me around! I keep all our history and culture all inside of my head, free for the asking!"

"Really," Albert replied. "So you just… remember everything, huh?"

"If my memory serves me well, and I believe that it does, I think that I just _told you that_, didn't I?" Whiscash said back oddly. "Well, actually, that's a little bit of a lie. I can't really remember everything all at once. That's why I have this place. See all these colored rocks in the walls? I put them there in very specific patterns. They remind me of things I may have forgotten. Don't believe me? Ask me something!"

"Alright… uh…" Albert stuttered. "How… how deep… is the ocean?"

"Just over twenty thousand six hundred aquarings at its deepest levels, as discovered four hundred and two years ago by the fourteenth Manaphy," Whiscash recited. "Elders still argue about the special well at the heart of the northeastern ocean and whether it applies, and if it did, the largest depth would be around forty-five thousand instead. Easy question."

"W—what's an aquaring?" Albert wondered.

"What, huh?" Whiscash spewed condescendingly. "I'm an elder, not a teacher. If you don't know your basic nautical measurements, I'll be of no help to you!"

"Okay, I'm sorry… I didn't mean…" Albert rambled for a moment. "How about this? If… if this is my third day of travel, and I set off from the Frozen Spring… How long will it take me to arrive at Cornice Harbor?"

"Hmm… Hmm… Can't tell you that," Whiscash said. "I don't know that place. Wait… wait a minute… No, this… the Cornice River is a few feet to the west of our banks, right. Alright. I'd say… … … at your current rate of traveling… … … thirty-two days. Or more. Probably more."

"R-really?" Albert sighed. "All this time, Lapras told me we were making good progress…"

"As fast as a convoy of survivors can go," Whiscash said. "That is, I'm assuming, by the question you just asked, that you're one of the survivors, right? You're lucky. The Master didn't go nice on that place, I hear."

Albert froze again, not sure how to respond.

"Hey! Well, glad you could meet the elder, but that pebble won't last forever. Let's continue on!" Horatio shouted. "I know just the place we can look next, right next door? Swim quickly! Or walk, I guess."

Albert was dumbfounded, but he hurried along as instructed. Had all the fish learned the wrong version of the story?

---

"This is the sand pit," Horatio said. "I guess… I don't know. We just like floating around here. For meditation, I guess. There's just some atmosphere to this room, It's hard to explain. I think you'd just need to be a fish to understand. Just… please, don't fall in."

Albert stood at the top of a steep cliff. Down below, a sliding, shifting pit of sand continually seeped down into some unseen drain. It was like a whirlpool, but with sand.

By now, Albert had made his presence known, and a whole colorful school of fish Pokémon revolved around him. There were even stranger fish Pokémon now, such as thin, pink fish with no discernable fins.

He knew he was supposed to say something. But as he watched the sand flow, and the fish who were somehow drawn to the sight of the sand but not really doing much of anything, he felt as quiet as ever.

"It looks… I don't know...." Albert admitted.

But as he looked at the audience he collected, all waiting expectantly for him to express further thoughts, he noticed something very odd.

There was one Feebas staring at him, partially separated from the rest of the group. It had been there since the beginning, yet… as all the other fish yammered and threw in their comments, this one hadn't said a word. It just stared at him, wide-eyed… watching him…

"Hey…" Albert said, eyeing the Feebas. "W-who's that?"

"Oh... that?" Horatio said. "Oh... don't worry about her. That's Lila. She's a bit of a loner. Honestly, don't know why she's around here."

The Feebas known as Lila twitched, saying nothing.

"Honestly, I'm not too sure about her," Horatio continued, speaking lowly into Albert's ear. "She's self-conscious, if you know what I mean. Her ugliness kinda gets to her."

"Ugly?" Albert repeated.

"Well, yes, of course," Horatio said. "Feebas are ugly. Just the way we're born. Nothing we can really do about it."

Albert blinked. His eyes locked with Lila's.

"For some reason, she never really got over that fact," Horatio explained. "So she doesn't talk much. Just swims around, keeps to herself, lets her parents teach her everything..."

"She's not ugly," Albert said oddly.

"Huh?"

"I mean... none of you are really that ugly..." Albert said. "Trust me... _I'm_ an ugly ___Pokémon_. You aren't."

As if startled by a sudden movement, the Feebas known as Lila darted away into the darkness.


	14. Verse 2, Part 7

The evening began its slow descent upon Great Crystal City. The sunset's light glinted from the giant gemstone in the city's center, casting exotic rays of color down every street.

Lily unenthusiastically trudged back down Clear Diamond Street, back toward the city park where she would meet with Mary one last time. Her step was slow, as a single thought circled in her mind:

_What now?_

There were many things on her mind, to be honest. She felt her heartbeat quickening as the dread of the night loomed in the air, noting how the city residents made themselves scarce in the streets, and those that remained had a jump in their step that resembled Mary's hastiness to get home on their first day of traveling. But first and foremost on her mind, she considered the two guilds she'd visited that day, weighing their credentials, and wondering if the other exploration guilds had anything else to offer.

_Those were the only two guilds I heard about, _Lily contemplated. _Neither of them seemed… right for me. There must be something else. There must be some other guilds here… I've got to ask around, get their names… otherwise… I'm just here. Lost… in a world I don't know…_

Lily rolled her eyes at herself, forcing a spring into her step.

_There I go again,_ she scolded herself. _That butterfly was right. What kind of an explorer am I supposed to be if I can't find something that's a little hard to find? This is only my first day here, for crying out loud, and already I'm feeling sorry for myself!? Ambera is downright amazing. It has everything I want! I can be happy here, I know it… I just… I've got to figure out how._

But then, the little Chikorita turned the corner onto a road called Hematite Way, and found herself staring straight down an empty road into the very heart of the city. The crystal sat on the horizon, filled to every corner with the glorious rays of the sunset which sat behind it. She stood for a moment, stunned at the touching picture before her, watching the purples and yellows and orange-pinks dance around the crystal's surface as if it were filled with the ocean's water. Her face began to tingle as she failed to breathe for a few moments.

_This place called to me,_ Lily told herself, letting the vision burn into her eyes. _Ambera called out to me, and now I'm here. I found it. Now… I'll answer that call. One day at a time. No matter what it takes._

She blinked, jerking her consciousness out of the trance, as she realized that the light was fading and that a shadow from a nearby curb corner had grown to touch her front toe.

_Well, tomorrow, it is,_ Lily decided. _Today… I sleep on everything. Can't be caught out with those ghosts, after all. _

She took two steps in down the street toward the glimmering, beckoning crystal… before a familiar voice called her name.

"Lily," the powerful, growling voice said to her from an adjacent street. "A surprise to meet you here. You should think about seeking shelter. Ambera's eve is merciful to none, even one as strong as I."

Surprised, Lily turned her head. At first, the burned visage of the crystal remained in her eyes, blocking her view of the voice's source. After blinking it away, though, she recognized the figure as Aggron, the leader of the Iron Golems, looking as though it was taking a stroll down the black-bricked street. It smiled at her. With intrigue, but a little wariness, she crossed the sidewalk to meet with the giant Pokémon.

"How has your day been, little one?" it asked gently. "Have you decided yet upon a suitable guild?"

"N…no, actually," Lily said apologetically, fearing it would offend the great best. "Still… still looking around."

"Do not feel ashamed," the Aggron said, bowing its head and smiling warmly. "It is understandable. I wish you all the graces of Groudon in your search. Heh heh, I did not expect you to accept my offer. Truth be told, I thought I was hallucinating when my eyes first lay upon you. Couldn't imagine why you would even consider my guild an option in the first place. However…"

The ground shook as the Aggron took a few steps down the road, focusing for a moment on his destination.

"…I saw something in you, little Chikorita," the guildmaster almost whispered. "I do not know what it was… but there was a glimmer of… something. You were displaced in my cavern. I saw the fear in your eyes of the lava, the lack of sunlight… but through it all… something in you was shining to my eyes, and I could not ignore it. If it happened to be the case that… maybe… maybe you were serious, maybe this _was_ what you desired… if that would be so… then I would make it perfectly clear that my way of life was fully open to you."

"Thank you, guildmaster Aggron," Lily replied, nodding her head. "You're very kind."

"I would hope so," Aggron laughed heartily. "One cannot handle a position such as mine by being careless. In any case, I wish you the best in your excursion of Great Crystal City. There are many more options available to you, if only you would seek them. And, listen, little Chikorita… if ever there would arise an issue where you think I could offer assistance… Consider me a string you could pull."

_Huh,_ Lily thought. _That's unusually kind of him…_

"Again, thank you, great Aggron" Lily said. "I'll keep it in mind!"

The Aggron grunted, glancing downtown at the sunset.

"Well, we should be on our separate ways, now," he declared. "The dimming sunlight demands it… say, Lily?"

"…Yes?" Lily replied meekly.

"In your search for a guild," he replied thoughtfully, "You haven't, by chance… visited Team Echo yet?"

"Team Echo?" she echoed. "I haven't heard of them yet… are they an exploration team?"

"Treasure hunters, the best of their kind," the rock monster hummed. "The highest ranking exploration team here in Great Crystal City. Even my Golems hold no candle to them. I was on my way to retrieve an item they borrowed from me. If you'd like… you could come with me. Possibly… have a word with them."

Lily found her interest piqued. A respected guildmaster was… going to put a good word in for her? To the best exploration team in town?

"Some two years ago, they moved here from Salamance Valley, the birthplace of the elite exploration teams," Aggron explained, beginning his steady pace toward his destination with Lily walking beside him. "Since then, they've been perhaps this city's greatest asset. But, I will tell you something… they like to keep to themselves. They're a very secretive team, and they work in mysterious ways."

"A secret club…" Lily mouthed. "Hmm…"

"I suppose you could say that," Aggron said. "They have even been known to go out at night and face the Watchers just to accomplish their tasks. Their skills seem to have no bound."

_This sounds promising,_ Lily told herself. _Competent, successful, strong... I like the sound of this team. If Aggron could get me in… wow, it sounds like a harsh team, though, but… it sounds exciting, actually…_

Picking up the pace, Aggron continued toward the base of operations for Team Echo, singing their praises the whole way. Lily eagerly strode along beside him.

About a block down the road, they came to a mansion. It wasn't decorative or glitzy in any way like the rest of the buildings in the city. In fact, Lily couldn't even spot a single crystal in all of its architecture. But the building was massive and sturdy, built from dull concrete blocks and adorned with pillars to hold the eave. The ground bulged up around the front door to form a shallow ramp up to the porch. Lily thought to herself that it looked like a cross between a church and a courthouse from the land of the humans, and realized that if she didn't know better, she never would have guessed an exploration team lived here.

Anticipation fluttering in her chest for the third time that day, Lily ascended the ramp at the rock beast's side and prepared to look her best for this interview. She really wanted a chance with these guys.

_DONG!! DONG!! DONG!!_

Lily cringed and froze in place for a moment, shocked at the sudden sound. She soon realized the doorbell had rung, though neither her nor Aggron had approached the door yet! That's when she looked down, and noticed the entire porch floor had been depressed slightly, like a giant button.

_Huh… pressure-sensitive doorbell,_ Lily thought to herself. _Clever. And I bet it keeps the intruders out, too. Works as a security system… Very nice._

"I'll tell you what, little Lily, better stand at the side for now, out of sight," Aggron told her. "They will warm up to seeing a familiar face before meeting a stranger. But… I tell you… if they see in you a glimmer of what I've seen in you, I think you will win their favor…"

Doing as told, Lily walked a few paces down the side of the wall, where she could not easily see the door. There, she sat herself down and waited.

It took over a minute for the guild to answer the door. Lily eyed the dimming sunlight, hoping that she wouldn't somehow end up on the streets at nightfall. She did her best not to think negatively, telling herself that this was her chance. Aggron could get her in. This was the guild she wanted to be a part of.

_Ka-__**Chink.**_The lock on the wooden door was lifted, making a sound almost as heavy as the doorbell itself. With a tiny creak, the door disappeared to reveal shadows inside.

"Good evening, Aggron," a voice said. "We were expecting you'd drop by. You want your stone gem back?"

"Yes, indeed, Lerik," Aggron said politely. "My team heads for Dusty Fissure in twelve days. I will be needing it back. Otherwise, I'd let you borrow it for longer…"

"Quite alright, it served us well," the voice said. "Here… I will not waste your time, now that the light is dwindling."

A shining, bronze-colored rock was placed in the doorway. Aggron quickly picked it up.

A spark of familiarity flashed before Lily's eyes as the voice echoed through her ears. It was a little raspy, yet polite... She squinted into the doorway, but at her angle, she could barely see anything.

_That voice, though…_ she realized. _Do I… know that voice?_

"Now, be off, great Aggron, and well wishes on your upcoming task," the voice said.

Lily shook her head. This was her part. She stood to her feet, poised to enter the scene at any point. Aggron eyed her.

"Lerik, there is one other matter of business, if I could so quickly," Aggron said. "It will only be a minute."

"Oh…?" the voice responded. "Hmm… Well, what can we do for you?"

"There is, you see, a visitor at your doorstep," Aggron said. "This little Pokémon visited my base earlier this day, prospecting a position on the team. Though, my guild was not to her liking. But perhaps… yours is?"

The voice didn't respond for a few moments. The tense silence stretched on far longer than it should have. Lily intermittently held her breath until finally Aggron motioned for her to approach. Gritting her teeth and trying not to trip over her own legs, she did.

"This is Lily," Aggron announced. "She wishes to join an exploration team here in Great Crystal City. She has visited… Lily? Is something the matter?"

Lily's gaze was frozen on the Pokémon who stood in the doorway. There stood the Luxio she had seen earlier, smirking back at her.

"The Chikorita from the café," the Lerik the Luxio said, bowing his head in recognition. "Something told me you would wind up here eventually…"

Lily shook her head, dispelling her speechlessness. "H-hey!" was the first thing she could think of to say. "You were… You knew I was looking for an exploration guild. Why didn't you tell me you were _on_ one?"

"It's complicated," the Luxio told her, looking downward. "When I met you at the café, I saw you had a great heart… And… I didn't want you to be heartbroken that we wouldn't let you into the team."

"Hmph, come now, you cannot be so quick to judge such a strong-spirited little Pokémon on principle," Aggron grumbled incredulously. "She has potential. I would have hired her on the spot if that's what she wanted. Give her a chance."

The Luxio's tail flicked in hesitation. He looked to the side, and then stared Lily in the eyes.

"I'm not sure if that's what she wants," Lerik admitted. "Lily… is that it? You want a chance?"

"Yes, I do," Lily said adamantly. "I think I could make it on your team."

"You have no idea what you're getting into," Lerik said sternly. "You have no idea how much training you're going to need… I mean… this takes true dedication. Unlike anything. And it's dangerous."

"I _like_ danger," Lily told him for the second time. "Look, if I join a team, I'm giving it my all. No exceptions. This is going to be my lifelong dedication."

The Luxio opened his mouth to say something else, but he stopped himself. It looked as though he was having trouble spitting out his words.

"Who's there?" another voice said from behind him. "Oh… uh… is there a problem? Lerik?"

A candlelight appeared behind the doorway. In the dim, flickering light, Lily could make out some of the mansion's interior. She saw a stone stairway leading up, some figure made of shining gold, and a picture or perhaps a map lining a wall. But her sight was shortly blocked as a new figure stepped in the way. This was a Pokémon she recognized: a Charmander. The small flame on its tail dispelled the surrounding shadows and brought a glowing orange tint to all the surrounding Pokémon.

"Who's that?" the Charmander asked. "Is that…"

"This… is a Chikorita who wants to… join our team," Lerik said, something like sarcasm in his voice. "I'd have sent her away, but… Aggron insists we give her a chance."

"Then we should give her a chance," the Charmander shrugged. "No harm in trying. I'd take her in, let Nor see her."

"L-lily," the Luxio said again, as if in desperation. "Still… this is… I'm not so sure. Look, this is my friend Charlie here. He hasn't even evolved yet, but we treat him the same as if he was."

"That means I have a chance," Lily challenged. "If you let in under-evolved Pokémon, that shouldn't be an issue for me, should it?"

"I don't evolve because I choose not to. Same reason Lerik here doesn't want to. Same with many of our team members. We stay in our weaker forms to throw off our enemies. They see us, think we're weak, don't consider us a threat. Then we can surprise them with our strength. My fire is just as destructive as your average Charizard."

"I've been training. I'm almost as strong as a Bayleef," Lily claimed. "I could do that."

"We fight the Watchers," Lerik tried. "We face them all the time. You'd have to learn how to fight them off."

"I'd love to," Lily said. "I hate those things. I'd love to go out at night and stand up to them."

"_Enough,_" Aggron grumbled. "This bickering accomplishes nothing. Show her to Nor, or send her away."

Charile and Lerik eyed one another for a moment.

"Fine," Lerik said. "Charlie, get Nor. Tell him… he has an interview. Lily… you're going to regret doing this… don't say I didn't warn you."

Lily frowned at the Luxio, almost hissing at him _"look, you don't have to feel sorry for me",_ but she managed to hold it in. This was, after all, a potential future teammate. Quietly, Lily left Aggron's side and entered the mansion, giving him a nod of gratitude as the door closed between them.

---

To Lily's disappointment, the rooms of the mansion were bare and functional. The golden figure she had seen was nothing but a brass handrail for the stairway. No candles burned except for the Charmander's tail. In all, it looked like a lackluster human building, and she didn't take notice of anything interesting.

However, she _did_ take notice when a giant Pokémon was staring down at her. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as Aggron, but it was much more colorful and dangerous-looking, its body covered with pointed blades and scaly armor. It held itself with an aura that demanded absolute respect, with no traces of generousness or gentleness that Aggron had shown her. Gulping hard, Lily steeled herself as she faced down the Armaldo, ready to defend herself.

She looked around the bare grey room and saw that several of the guild members had gathered to watch the confrontation. Lerik was there, and Charlie, as well as a Sceptile, a Yanmega, a pair of Banette, and a Pidgey. They all looked genuinely surprised to see the Chikorita who'd shown up on her doorstep. Lily had the impression that not even half the guild was present in the room.

"I am Nor," the Armaldo boomed. "I was told you were brought here by Aggron of the Iron Golems to join our guild."

"Yes," Lily said simply. "I was looking today—"

"Quiet, that was not a question," it growled. "Let me tell you how this will work. Aggron is my trusted partner in business, so I will fulfill his wishes and interview you. I will take my actions based upon the answers you give. Please answer succinctly with what is on your mind. Do not _sing_, do not try to _sell_ yourself to me, or you will not earn my favor."

Lily nodded in understanding. She eyed the Luxio who had tried to push her away. He looked mortified. For a moment, Lily felt smug that she had defied him, but looking closer, she saw that his sadness… wasn't just prideful. There was… something else in there.

Lily bit her lip. He was actually worried for her.

"On what basis do you wish to join my team?" the Armaldo demanded, snapping Lily back to attention.

"I want to be an explorer," Lily said simply, not dressing up her answer with excuses or ramblings. "That's just… what I want."

"Good," Nor said. "That's a start. Now… how _badly_ do you want to be an explorer?"

Lily remembered this question. Aggron had asked her the same thing earlier.

"I… _intend_ to," Lily said, choosing her words carefully.

"Good answer," Nor said, nodding his massive head and pacing a few steps to the right. "And… what do you hope to get out of your career? Money? Riches? Fame?"

"I think I'd be stupid if I didn't want those," Lily said. "But really… what I want most is just to see the world. That's it, really. If I don't get money or riches or fame, just having done the job is reward enough for me."

"Respectable," Nor admitted. "Now… I will ask you a harder question, Chikorita. Pretend you are on an exploration. And… _on_ this exploration, pretend… you find something that you did not wish to find. Something horrible… you wished did not exist. How would you respond to it?"

Lily winced. What kind of a question was this?

Her eyes blanked out for a moment, assembling an answer to this question. But what did it mean? What answer was he looking for?

"I would tell someone," Lily decided. "If it's something bad, I would tell someone I trust. Maybe it would be you. Or my best friends. But I would find someone I know I can trust and tell them about it."

"Hmmmm…." The great bug groaned. "Another difficult question for you: pretend that you are exploring with a teammate, and one of them betrays you and leaves you to die somewhere. But you survive, and you are able to make it back to the base. What do you do?"

"Uh… wow…" Lily gasped for a moment. "Um… I would… uh… honestly? I would be afraid to go back in… but… I would tell you. You have to know that there's a traitor working for you."

"Even though the traitor has probably already convinced me that you were the traitor, and that I should destroy you?" Nor returned powerfully. "A traitor who works for me is a good traitor, indeed. Regardless… next question. Say that you are out on the field with your team. And you make a horrible mistake that is about to result in the death of your entire team. Let's call it a rock slide. There is an opportunity for one Pokémon to survive. Would you take that opportunity? Or would you tell someone else about it so they could survive?"

"Uh…" Lily gasped, speechless. "That's… that's tough. I'd decide who would most deserve to go, I guess… But… uh, wow. That's…"

"Say you discover a dungeon lined to the brim with dangerous traps!" Nor shouted. "Say they injure you to the brink of death. But you know that your team is planning an expedition there, and you know they would be massacred if they attempted it. But you think you are too weak to move. What would you do?"

"I'd… I'd get out, somehow! And warn them!" Lily cried, matching Nor's voice. "I have to. I wouldn't let the team down!"

"Pretend that you're on an exploration, and you find a handful of civilians trapped in a… a dungeon," Nor shouted louder. "But you only have enough supplies to support your own team. What do you do?"

A confused scowl covered Lily's face. "Uh… I'd… uh…"

"Pretend that you and your friend are being threatened by a powerful outlaw who has killed many Pokémon!" Nor boomed. "You have the choice between killing the outlaw for the greater good, or saving your friend's life. What do you do?"

Lily found herself tongue-tied. "I'd… save… I mean… wait…"

"Hah. Heheheheh hah hah." Nor laughed. "Heheheh hah."

Lily blinked. Nor was laughing at her.

"Little Chikorita… you see, life is not as simple as standing up to seize the day," Nor told her. "I have met your kind before, Chikorita. Heh. Heheh. Your kind is cheap to come by. The flamboyant optimist. You can stand at the top of a hill and say that you'll push forward at all costs. That nothing will stop you. But… it is never that simple. You only imagine the decisions where the answer is easy. It isn't how you make the easy decisions, but how you make the difficult ones, that make you strong. When you cannot do what's right, and you must choose between two wrongs, which wrong do you choose?"

Lily clamped her mouth shut, afraid to say anything. Her frown deepened.

"You have much growing to do, Chikorita," Nor said resentfully. "And I do not mean evolution. You don't know how the world works quite yet. And to that… I say… you are useless to me. I see no good reason to invite you onto my taskforce."

Lily bit down on her lip in disappointment. The Luxio breathed a sigh of relief, and she sent him a glare.

"A… alright. Okay." Lily said. "Fine. Thank you for your time, Master Nor. It was… an honor to speak with you."

"Charlie… show this young girl back to the door," Nor ordered. "And Chikorita… there is a Guild… I do believe their office is not too far from here… they call themselves the Evergreen Guild…"

"I know," Lily sighed. "I was there."

"Join them."

Lily looked oddly at the Armaldo.

"Trust me," he said. "Join the Evergreen guild. They will gladly accept you… and you will be happy there. I promise it. They are exactly what you are looking for. My team… is not."

"Come on," Charlie said indifferently, leading her back toward the mansion's front door. "It's late. You'd better get going…"

Feeling her chest tingle, Lily trudged behind the Charmander, sending a hard glare back at the Luxio who'd given her problems… and wondering what, exactly, had just happened.

---

The sky darkened. The sunset was almost absolute. In just two hours, the Watchers would ascend.

"Stupid door…" the Beautifly muttered, fluttering wildly as it tried to force a long plank of wood over the entrance to his guild's office. "Seismic, how many times am I going to have to do this? Please, I beg you… quit stomping the door down…"

With some effort, the butterfly got the hinges to match up and the door fell in place, as the monstrous Torterra watched absently from the street. Finally, he turned the key and locked up for the night.

"Well, that's it, I guess…" Yuu said. "Not a bad day, overall. We got two jobs today, and…"

"Chi-_ku!_"

"Chiku… what? What are you babbling about now, Seimsic?" Yuu mumbled, flitting away from the door and into the street.

That's when he noticed… standing several feet down the street, halfway hidden in the shadows, was the Chikorita that had so hastily run away earlier that evening.

"Oh… you're back…" Yuu said, dumbfounded, coming to a rest on Seismic's back. "I was just closing up for the night, but…"

"I'm in," Lily said. "I'll be in your guild."

* * *

_Charile the Charmander was created by **charmandertreecko**._

---

_Author's Note:_

_If you're wondering why this verse is so long, it's because it got two extra chapters in it. This and Albert's latest chapter were actually results of splitting their respective parts because they were getting too long._

_Also, I promised a shiny Golem, but he didn't quite fit as I was imagining him to. So he'll come in a bit later.  
_


	15. Verse 2, Part 8

_Late in the evening, Prince stepped from his team's doorway and into the main hall. In these last few days at the Gold Division, there was much to be done._

_He turned his attention to the staircase that would lead him down to the base's main level._

_A Scyther stood in the doorway._

"_Good evening, Prince," it said. "I haven't heard from you in some time. Are your missions going well?"_

"_As well… as can be expected," Prince muttered indifferently, approaching the staircase._

_As he drew nearer, he saw that the Scyther would not move._

"_Then why do I hear that you're going to work for Lucario?" the Scyther challenged._

_The Infernape's eyes widened. _

"_Legend," he hissed. "I shouldn't have told him. He's gone and ratted me out… Scythe… It's very simple. I'm leaving because I must. Do not press the matter. It will not change."_

"_Very well…" Scythe sighed. "So be it…"_

_Prince hesitated. The Scyther still blocked the stairway, his gaze burning intently into the Infernape's eyes. The Infernape returned a questioning glance._

"_You're right about one thing, my friend, it _is_ very simple," the Scyther said darkly. "You are mistaken. You aren't going anywhere."_

"_Scythe… move. I don't have time for this."_

_The standoff held for half a minute, Prince and Scythe refusing to move. Prince scowled in confusion, Scythe smiling evilly back at him._

_Finally, Prince decided to ignore the Scyther and push past him. He extended an arm, forcing himself into the doorway._

_*Slice!*_

_A brutal movement. A painful sting. And Prince found his body thrust backward onto the floor, a long, bloody gash opened underneath the fur of his belly._

"_If you will not listen to me, then you will listen to my blades," Scythe told him, now in a defensive stance. "You're not leaving."_

"_Who are you to hold me back?" Prince roared. "This has nothing to do with you!"_

"_You think that the absence of a good friend and powerful ally such as yourself has nothing to do with me?" Scythe returned, laughing sarcastically. "I know a bad decision when I see one, and this is a bad decision. You're harming the Gold Division by leaving. And you're harming yourself."_

_Prince slowly picked himself up from the ground, his fist clenched, his eyes tracking the Scyther's tiny movements and twitches. He held his wound with his other hand to relieve the sting._

"_Scythe… you've got nothing to prove to me," Prince growled. "Let me go."_

"_By all means, go," Scythe replied, a gleam in his eye. "Go ahead. You are free to leave."_

_But the Scyther still did not budge._

_In the blink of an eye, Prince dropped his body to the ground and thrust his feet at the Scyther, tripping him up and knocking his back into the wall. The Scyther recovered almost instantly, rushing forth and bludgeoning him in the head at lightning speed with the back of his blade. _

_The Infernape tumbled back, cartwheeling to his feet and pouncing forth at his assailant. After deftly dodging a counterattack, he swung his fist to connect with the Scyther's belly, but the Scyther had vanished into an agile blur. He turned his head just in time to meet another reverse-blade to the forehead._

_Shrugging off the impact, Prince jumped back out of the Scyther's range before leaping to connect his fist with the Scyther's jaw. The Scyther moved to parry the attack, but Prince feinted to the other side and delivered a full-forced blow to the side of his head. The Scyther reeled._

"_For your information, Legend did not tell me," Scythe mentioned, jumping away for a moment. "Vallon did. I asked him why he would betray you in that manner. He told me… that was his job."_

_Letting loose a loud growl of frustration, Prince charged forward on all fours, launching himself into the air to deliver a kick to the Scyther's chest. Scythe pivoted to dodge the attack, slamming him in the back Prince retaliated with a quick blow to his abdomen the moment he touched the ground._

_Not wasting a moment, Prince pounced a second time, but Scythe was ready. He swiftly jumped back, swinging a blade in the place he used to be. But Prince jerked his body unexpectedly and grasped his other blade, planting his weight into the ground and slinging him into the nearest wall. The Scyther shrieked in surprise._

"_You don't need me," Prince growled. "You pretend you need me, but you know that you don't. You… lie to yourself. You will be fine without me."_

_But then, just as quickly, Scythe spun his body, forcing an open blade into the Infernape's upper arm. Blood cascaded down upon the silver surface as Scythe forced the Infernape against the same wall. Prince grunted in pain as he found himself pinned in place._

"_You take me for an idiot!" Scythe growled back. "I lie to nobody. I would sooner let Alakazam disband the division than you. We are invincible together."_

_Prince jerked his body to try to free himself, but Scythe held him in place, forcing in his blade deeper._

"_Do you find this fun, Scythe?" Prince managed to say in between gasps of pain. "Do you have nothing better to do than harass me? Don't you have some Sandslash to protect?"_

"_Not when my friend is in trouble with a deluded mind," Scythe said sternly. "You're more important than they are. I need you to stay. I need you to get some sense knocked back into your head."_

"_I'm sorry to disappoint you, but sense has nothing to do with it," Prince returned._

_The fire on Prince's crown flared suddenly, surprising Scythe. Tongues of fire appeared across his fur as he grunted loudly, forcing against Scythe for freedom. He found that he could not easily struggle, as pressing back upon his captor would force the blade deeper into his flesh…_

"_Or perhaps… maybe it's you who is trying to prove something," Scythe wondered, his hold unmoving. "You want to see if you can work without me, is that it?"_

_Prince's body trembled. He clenched his fists so tight that he felt his knuckles drained of blood._

"_You… are… an idiot," Prince whispered into the Scyther's ear._

_Scythe blinked, realizing too late that the Infernape was overheating his own body._

_The Infernape's body erupted in a fiery blast, sending the Scyther flying away. Once freed, he pushed himself away from the wall, still covered in flames and his armor shards glowing white-hot._

_The Scyther lay on his back, his eyes closed tight as he felt burns spreading over his body. Prince looked down upon him._

"_Ergeh…" Scythe grunted, writhing on the floor and trying to shift his weight to stand back up. A flame burned upon his arm, black scorch marks riddled his chest and face._

_The Scyther turned an eye to glare up at the Infernape._

"_You're not going…" he rasped. "I'll slice off your arm so Lucario will have no use for you!"_

_The air filled with the sound of Scythe's buzzing wings. Prince blinked, and his form was missing from the floor. _

_Prince braced himself just in time. Scythe cried at the top of his lungs as he began a furious, open-bladed attack upon the Infernape. Prince ducked and dodged, just barely missing his first attempts, but felt a sudden wave of weakness and distracting pain as Scythe landed a hit across his back, drawing even more blood. _

_The Scyther's onslaught was like a swarm, buzzing around his figure in circles and attacking erratically from any angle. Prince's heart pounded as he tried to trace the bug's movements and dodge the blows, but Scythe always found his weak points and harassed them, either with an open blade, or with his blades in reverse, or a straight broadside. He leapt and ducked and rolled out of the way quickly, but Scythe followed with ease, evading his defenses and withering down his strength. Prince felt as bruises and cuts accumulated upon his body, as if he had been tossed down a hill covered in nettles…_

_Thinking quickly, Prince launched himself upward to evade the Scyther's attacks. Stretching his limbs, he held himself for a split second in the corner between the ceiling and the wall._

_Scythe hesitated for just a moment, losing sight of his target. Prince acted instantly._

_Thrusting himself downward from his position, Prince hit the confused Scyther with the full weight of his body. Scythe tumbled away to evade further attack, but Prince planted his hand on the floor and delivered another powerful kick to his chest. The Scyther slumped into the corner._

_There was another fiery explosion as Prince slammed the Scyther in the face with a flaming fist, ending the battle for good._

_For a moment, Prince crouched in place, watching the Scyther as it reeled in pain, unable to move._

"_Why are you hurting me…?" Scythe asked, halfway anchored in consciousness. "What's the point?"_

"_You were the one who attacked me," Prince grumbled._

"_A betrayal is a betrayal," Scythe uttered. "Just so long as you see… with your eyes… what you've done…"_

_At that, the Scyther's head slumped onto his chest, his eyes closed._

_Prince looked at the Scyther's body for a moment, its burns prevalent, its injuries leaking a thin clear fluid…_

…_Then, slowly, he stood himself and headed for the stairs, leaving his fainted friend alone._

_---_

_Through the ghastly shadows of the night  
We cower in the corner  
We hold the candle, safe and near  
And keep our eye upon the eastern sky  
For there will shine the piercing rays of dawn  
To slay the remnants of the past  
To light the way another day  
And help us carry on._

**End of Verse 2**

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**Author's Note**

I'm having a lot of trouble writing this story. To be honest, the reason is simply because I'm on the verge of an exciting part in the main story. I'm really dying to write the next chapters, and it's bothering me that this spinoff keeps standing in the way.

That is to say, I still really like this story, but right now, I'm too distracted to give it my all. I realized it was a bit of a mistake to set it up the way I did, alternating between the two stories. Especially on the edge of such a massive turning point for Char and his friends.

So, I've made a decision. Effective immediately, I'm putting Emerald Chronicles: A Frozen Flame on hold, so I can continue on with Silver Resistance… at least until I get to Chapter 42. My apologies to all those who were following this story.

So, onto Chapter 37 of Silver Resistance! See you there!


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